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## Pinḍaniyukti: An Observation
**123.** According to the texts of Mūlācāra and Āyurveda, the abdomen is divided into four parts, two parts for food, one part for water, and the fourth part is kept empty for air circulation.
**1.** The practitioner of Pinḍaniyukti has also given instructions on the amount of food according to the season. In winter, one part is allotted for water and four parts for food. In moderate winter, two parts for water and three parts for food, in summer, two parts for water and three parts for food, and in extreme summer, three parts for water and two parts for food. The sixth part is always reserved for air circulation.
**2.** One part of water and two parts of food are constant, they do not increase or decrease. In extreme summer, two parts of water increase, and in extreme winter, two parts of food increase. This means that in extreme summer, two parts of food decrease, and in extreme winter, two parts of water decrease.
**3.** The third and fourth parts out of the six parts are unstable. The fifth part related to water, the sixth part related to air, and the first and second parts related to food - these four parts are present.
**4.** By this method, keeping the stomach empty for air and water is considered moderate eating. Eating less than this is considered minimal eating.
**5.** The excess of food (Pramaṇātireka) occurs in five ways. Prakāma āhāra is the first type of excess food. The Uttarādhyayana Sutra mentions that just as a fire in a forest with abundant fuel and strong wind does not extinguish quickly, similarly, the digestive fire of a person who eats excessively (Prakāmabhōji) never calms down.
**6.** For men, 32 kavala is the prescribed amount of food, and for women, 28 kavala. For eunuchs, 24 kavala is the prescribed amount. Eating more than this is considered Prakāma āhāra.
**7.** The Vyavahāra Bhāṣya considers 32 kavala as Prakāma āhāra. There, the amount of kavala is explained practically and intelligibly. According to it, one should know the amount of the abdomen (kukkuḍi-udara-pramaṇam) as the 32nd part of one's own food intake.
**8.** Another alternative meaning is found in the commentary of Śāntyācārya. The meaning of "aṇḍaka" is the mouth. The amount of food that can be put into the mouth without distorting it naturally is the prescribed kavala.
**9.** The Harivamśa Purāṇa, while describing the kavala-pramaṇam, states that one thousand grains of rice are equal to one kavala.
**10.** The size of an āṁvala (Indian gooseberry) is also mentioned for kavala-pramaṇam. However, everyone's body structure and digestive power are not the same.
**Footnotes:**
1. Piṇi 313/2.
2. Piṇi 313/3, 4.
3. Piṇi 313/5, 6, for details see Mavṛ P. 175.
4. Jībhā 1638-42.
5. U 32/11.
6. Jībhā 1622, 1623.
7. Vyabhā 3688.
8. Vyabhā 3682;
Nīyāhārassaya, battisaimo u jo bhave bhāgo.
Tam kukkuḍippamāṇam, nātavvaṁ buddhimāntehiṁ.
9. Uśāṁvṛ P 604.
10. Hapu 11/125.