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The **Prajñāpanā Sūtra** states that the diet of an **audārika** (possessing a physical body) is of three types: **saccitta** (conscious), **acitta** (unconscious), and **miśra** (mixed). The food consumed is of two types: **ābhōganirvṛtti** and **anābhōganirvṛtti**. **Ābhōganirvṛtti** is food consumed by choice, while **anābhōganirvṛtti** is food consumed involuntarily. There are different time limits for different beings when consuming food by choice. However, food consumed involuntarily is consumed continuously.
The text also clarifies the type of food consumed by different beings. Food is consumed with qualities of color, smell, taste, and touch, and there is great diversity in this. The food consumed by **nārakas** (hell beings) is characterized by bad color, etc., while the food consumed by **devas** (gods) is characterized by good color, etc. Some beings consume food from all six directions, while others consume food from three, four, or five directions.
The **pudgalas** (matter particles) consumed as food are transformed into the five senses and the limbs. The body is also shaped by the food consumed. An innumerable portion of the **pudgalas** consumed as food is transformed into food, and an infinite portion is enjoyed.
The final chapter also explains which of the twenty-four **daṇḍakavarti** (those who have attained the highest state of liberation) beings consume **lōmāhāra** (hair-eating) and **prakshepahāra** (food consumed in lumps), and which beings consume **prōjahāra** (food consumed through the mouth) and **manōbhaksana** (food consumed through the mind). It also explains which beings consume the bodies of other beings. This fact is presented here in a general form.
The **Sūtrakṛtāṅgasūtra** (Shruta 2, Adhyayana 3, Āhāraparijñā-Adhyayana) and the **Bhagavatosūtra** discuss in detail how different beings, such as those with an earth body, consume the unconscious bodies of plants, etc., and how beings like the fetus consume the mother's blood and the father's semen. The **Stānāṅgasūtra** (Chapter 4) describes four types of food for **tiryañcas** (animals), **manushyas** (humans), and **devas** (gods).
For example, the four types of food for **tiryañcas** are: (1) **kaṅkōpam** (food like bones), (2) **bilōpam** (food like worms), (3) **pāṇa** (elephant) **mānsōpam** (food like elephant flesh), and (4) **putra mānsōpam** (food like the flesh of one's own offspring).
The four types of food for **manushyas** are: **aśan** (cooked food), **pān** (drinks), **khādim** (food consumed for nourishment), and **svādim** (food consumed for taste).
The four types of food for **devas** are: **varṇavān** (colored), **rasavān** (tasty), **gandhavān** (fragrant), and **sparśavān** (touching).
The text also mentions the desire for food among **devas**, with the desire for food among **vaimānika devas** (celestial beings) lasting for a very long time, up to 33,000 years. This indicates that the desire for food after a long time is the result of some previous birth's **samyama** (self-control) practices or **puṇyakarya** (meritorious deeds).