Disclaimer: This translation does not guarantee complete accuracy, please confirm with the original page text.
## The Evils of Nighttime Meals and the Benefits of Abstaining
**Chapter 3, Verses 60-66 of the Yoga Shastra**
In the transitional period, between day and night, Yakshas and Rakshasas eat. Therefore, O Yudhishthira, the sustainer of your lineage, it is forbidden to eat at night, violating all these times of meals for the Devas and others. ||58-59||
Now, in accordance with the prohibition of nighttime meals mentioned in the Puranas, we will confirm this statement from the perspective of Ayurveda. ||231||
**Verse 60:**
* **Meaning:** When the sun sets, the lotus of the heart and the navel lotus within the body contract, and along with the food, subtle beings are also consumed. Therefore, one should not eat at night. ||60||
**Verse 61:**
* **Meaning:** Those who eat at night, consuming a multitude of living beings that fall into their food, are no better than Rakshasas, if not worse. How can they be considered wise? ||61||
**Verse 62:**
* **Meaning:** One who eats continuously, day and night, is truly a beast without horns or a tail. ||62||
**Verse 63:**
* **Meaning:** One who, knowing the evils of nighttime meals, abstains from eating for two ghatikas (48 minutes) at the beginning of the day and two ghatikas at the end of the night, is blessed with great merit. ||63||
**Explanation:** One who eats two ghatikas after sunrise and two ghatikas before sunset (i.e., abstaining from eating for two ghatikas at the beginning of the day and two ghatikas at the end of the night) is a virtuous soul. This noble person has understood the evils of nighttime meals. They consider the two ghatikas near nighttime to be harmful. Therefore, the Agamas prescribe that the most severe form of pratyakhyana (abstinence) is performed after the nine-fold namaskara (salutation) and before the end of the day, one muhurta (48 minutes) before the Shravaka (Jain lay follower) refrains from eating and then performs pratyakhyana. ||63||
**Verse 64:**
* **Meaning:** One who eats during the day without observing the rule of abstaining from nighttime meals may receive some general benefits, but not the specific benefits of pratyakhyana. Just as a deposit does not accrue interest without a specific agreement, similarly, one who eats during the day without observing the rule does not receive the specific benefits of observing the rule. ||64||
**Verse 65:**
* **Meaning:** Those who, abandoning the sun-lit day, eat only at night, are like fools who abandon a precious jewel and take a piece of glass. ||65||
**Verse 66:**
* **Meaning:** Those who, desiring good fortune, eat at night despite the presence of the day, are like those who sow seeds in barren land, even though they are of the finest quality. ||66||