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{{short description|Hindu/Indian concept about contamination of food by saliva}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
[[File:Typical North India Food Prepared for Rongmei Naga.jpg|thumb|A partially-eaten plate of Indian food. The food on the plate is called Uchchhishta (noun). The plate is said to be Uchchhishta (adjective).]]
'''''Uchchhishta''''' ({{langx|sa|उच्छिष्ट}}, {{IAST3|Ucchiṣṭa}}, {{IPA|sa|ʊtːɕʰɪʂʈɐ|pron}}), known by various regional terms, is an Indian and a Hindu concept related to the contamination of food by saliva. Though the term has various meanings and has no exact parallel in English,<ref name=":6">Roy p. 107</ref> it is generally translated in English as "leftovers"<ref name="Olivelle354pp">Olivelle pp. 354-5</ref> or "leavings",<ref>Khare p. 79</ref> but with a denigratory aspect. ''Uchchhishta'' frequently denotes the food scraps remaining after a person has eaten. In a broader sense, it refers to the contamination of a food or hand that has come in contact with saliva or the inside of the mouth. A person or plate is said to be ''uchchhishta'' after coming into contact with ''uchchhishta'' food.<ref name="Olivelle354pp"/> ''Uchchhishta'' food, people and utensils are considered to be ritually impure. A person can become purified by washing their hand (Hindus traditionally eat with their fingers) and mouth.

It is highly disrespectful to offer ''uchchhishta'' food to someone, however exceptions exist for food from socially superior individuals, and others. While such offerings to Hindu divinities are forbidden in classical Hinduism, some heterodox [[Tantra|Tantric]] deities are worshipped with the offering.

==Concept==
[[File:Leftovers.JPG|thumb|Leftovers of an Indian curry on a plate. The leftovers are called ''uchchhishta'' (noun); the plate is described as ''uchchhishta'' (adjective)]]

The Monier-Williams Sanskrit dictionary defines ''uchchhishta'' as: "left, rejected, stale, spit out of the mouth (as remnants of food); one who has still the remains of food in the mouth or hands, one who has not washed his hands and mouth and therefore is considered impure, impure; leavings, fragments, remainder (especially of a sacrifice or of food)".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2014/web/webtc/servepdf.php?page=173|title=MW Cologne Scan|website=www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de|access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2014/web/webtc/servepdf.php?page=174|title=MW Cologne Scan|website=www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de|access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref>

[[Medhātithi|Medhatithi]] (c. 850–1050 CE), one of the oldest and most famous commentators of the Hindu law book ''[[Manusmriti]]'' lists the meanings of ''uchchhishta'':<ref name="Olivelle354pp"/>
* Primary meaning: contamination by food or hand that has come in contact the inside of someone's mouth
* Pollution due to contact with "the eater, the eaten food" or the plate on which someone has eaten
* leftover food on someone's plate, after he has eaten
* leftover food in the serving vessel after everyone is served
* a person who has passed human waste, before purification

While ''uchchhishta'' is related to leftovers and contact with saliva, ''uchchhishta'' should be differentiated from other terms also translated in English as "impure": ''Amedhya'' ("unfit for sacrifice") refers to contamination by contact to human waste, corpses, decomposition etc. and ''malina'' ("stained") refers to pollution by physical dirt.<ref name="Davis220">Olivelle & Davis Jr, p. 220</ref>

Like other bodily substances like sweat, saliva is considered to be part of body and also not part of it, that is, of "uncertain status". Thus, contact with saliva, ''uchchhishta'', is regarded as impure.<ref name="Smith">Smith p. 154</ref> The ''Manusmriti'' however does not regard saliva defiling in general, but only in the food context. Drops of saliva, which transmit from one person to another while speaking, are not treated impure.<ref name="Davis225">Olivelle & Davis Jr, p. 225</ref>

The precept of not contaminating all the food or a drink with bacteria or viruses in one's saliva is of particular concern as the health of someone could be threatened through cross contamination.<ref name=":7">Gadia p. 6</ref>

A medieval [[Siddhar]] mocks the concept of ''uchchhishta''. He questions how are the flowers offered to Hindu deities or honey not defiled by saliva of bees and the cow's milk by the saliva of the calf.<ref>Dundes p. 109</ref>

== Regional names ==

*''eñjalu''/''ucchiṣṭa'' (ಎಂಜಲು/ಉಚ್ಛಿಷ್ಟ) – [[Kannada]]<ref name=":0">Khare p. 226</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Baraha Dictionary |url=https://baraha.com/kannada/main.php |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=baraha.com}}</ref>
*''engili'' (ఎంగిలి) – [[Telugu language|Telugu]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/gwynn_query.py?qs=engili&searchhws=yes|title=A Telugu-English dictionary|last=Gwynn|first=J. P. L. (John Peter Lucius)|date=1991|access-date=8 September 2018}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*''eccil'' (எக்சில்) – [[Tamil language|Tamil]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/fabricius_query.py?qs=%E0%AE%8E%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D&searchhws=yes|title=J. P. Fabricius's Tamil and English dictionary. 4th ed., rev.and enl|last=Fabricius|first=J. P.|date=1972|access-date=8 September 2018}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*''juṭhā''/''jhuṭhā'' (जूठा) – [[Hindi]]<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/biswas-bengali_query.py?qs=%E0%A6%9D%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%BE&searchhws=yes|title=Samsad Bengali-English dictionary. 3rd ed.|last=Biswas|first=Sailendra|date=2000|access-date=8 September 2018}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>Fuller p. 77</ref>[[Bengali language|Bengali]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/biswas-bengali_query.py?qs=%E0%A6%9D%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%BE&searchhws=yes|title=Samsad Bengali-English dictionary. 3rd ed.|last=Biswas|first=Sailendra|date=2000|access-date=8 September 2018}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*''jũṭh'' (जूंठ) - [[Rajasthani language|Rajasthani]]
*''khoṭu''/''chũṭ'' (ખોટુ/ચૂંટ) - [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
*''ushṭa'' (उष्ट) – [[Marathi language|Marathi]]; the term is used in the extended meaning of "used or enjoyed by others", e.g., a speech is described as ''ushta'', if it is a plagiarism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/molesworth_query.py?qs=%E0%A4%89%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9F%E0%A4%BE&searchhws=yes|title=A dictionary, Marathi and English. 2d ed., rev. and enl|last=Molesworth|first=J. T. (James Thomas)|date=1857|access-date=8 September 2018}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

*''eccil''/''ucchishṭam'' (എച്ചിൽ/ഉച്ഛിഷ്ടം ) – [[Malayalam]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/gundert_query.py?qs=%E0%B4%8E%E0%B4%9A%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%9A%E0%B4%82&searchhws=yes|title=A Malayalam and English dictionary|last=Gundert|first=Hermann|date=1872|access-date=8 September 2018}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*''sånkhuṛi''/''åĩṭhā'' (ସଙ୍ଖୁଡ଼ି/ଅଇଁଠା) – [[Odia language|Odia]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/praharaj_query.py?qs=%E0%AC%85%E0%AC%87%E0%AC%A3%E0%AD%8D%E0%AC%A0%E0%AC%BE&searchhws=yes|title=Purnnacandra Odia Bhashakosha.|last=Praharaj|first=G. C.|date=1931–1940|access-date=8 September 2018}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*''ẽṭh'' (ঐংঠ/ऐंठ) - [[Maithili language|Maithili]]
*''eṭho'' (এঠো) – [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
*''maḍe'' (ಮಡೇ) – [[Tulu language|Tulu]]

==Rules==
Uchchhista is generally regarded as highly polluting and impure in Hinduism.<ref name="Olivelle354pp"/> Hindus view Uchchhista with revulsion.<ref name=":5">Dundes p. 111</ref> Eating Uchchhista is considered as humiliating;<ref name=":5" /> a Kannada proverb says that he is a dog who eats Uchchhista.<ref name=":0" /> Offering Uchchhista to a higher [[Caste system in India|caste]] member is considered as his insult.<ref name=":2">Dundes p. 110</ref>

People usually do not dip, serve or accept food with the fingers or cutlery that has touched someone's mouth. While cooking also, the cook does not taste food and use the same utensil to stir the food. Once food is tasted with a utensil, it is put away to wash. Food which has been dipped with fingers and cutlery used for eating is considered Uchchhista.<ref name=":7" /> While sharing or eating dry food or fruits, the food is portioned so that it does not become contaminated by someone's saliva.<ref name=":2" /> For the same reason, Hindus do not generally drink from each other's water glasses.<ref name=":3">Dundes p. 108</ref>

In the early 20th century, use of spoons or forks and metal plates were not used by orthodox Hindus as they had come in contact with one's mouth and thus could not be reused as they remained Uchchhista, even though cleaned. One-use leaf plates were preferred; Hindus traditionally eat with their fingers, without cutlery.<ref>Dundes pp. 110–1</ref>

''Uchchhishta'' is acceptable to be eaten by socially inferior individuals: one's servants, lower caste persons, beggars and animals.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1">Khare p. 234</ref> "[[Dalit|Untouchables]]" including [[Manual scavenging|Castes handling human waste]] historically used to live on leftovers.<ref name=":3" /> Eating someone's Uchchhista is seen as a sign of submission and acceptance of the person's superiority.<ref name="Davis439" />

In modern India, the rules of Uchchhista are relaxed in the cases of intimacy of a couple or a family.<ref name=":2" /> Eating the ''uchchhishta'' food of a young child by his parents is also acceptable, as the child is not regarded a fully-grown separate individual.<ref name="Smith" /> Parents usually feed young children from their own plate.<ref name=":6" />

In contrast of the general negative connotations associated with it, eating some types of Uchchhista like of a husband by a wife, of a guru by the student and of a sacrifice or divine offering by all, is highly regarded.<ref name="Olivelle354pp" /> [[Prasad (food offering)|Prasad]], food offered to a deity and having "eaten" by the deity, is sometimes considered the Uchchhista of the gods, as in some parts of North India; however other times as in parts of South India, the comparison of the sacred prasad to Uchchhista, is frowned upon.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="Davis439">Olivelle & Davis Jr, pp. 439–40</ref>

A husband is considered equivalent to God for a Hindu wife. As such, wife can eat his Uchchhista as a sign of her love and submission.<ref name=":1" /> The wife may eat in the same leaf as the husband's, after he finishes. The husband will leave some food in his plate for her to eat, as a symbol of his love.<ref name=":5" /> The custom is ritually performed first at the time of marriage.<ref name=":4" /> This act is said to signify her integration in her new family. It is also acceptable if the wife eats the Uchchhista of her in-laws or her husband's brothers.<ref name="Smith"/>

The ''[[Apastamba Dharmasutra]]'' (1st-millennium BCE), while describing the code of conduct for a student, refers to the concept of ''uchchhishta''. In ancient times, a student would stay with a teacher ([[guru]]) in the latter's house ([[Gurukula]]) and learn. In this period, a student should ask for alms for his livelihood, which he should not consider as ''uchchhishta''. A student is prescribed to not leave any food uneaten in his plate, that is, leave no ''uchchhishta''. However, if any ''uchchhishta'' remains, he should bury it, throw it in the water or give it away to a [[Shudra]] (a member from the lower social strata). The student is prescribed to eat the ''uchchhishta'' of his guru, which are regarded as sacred as a sacrificial oblation. Eating ''uchchhishta'' of one's father or brother is also acceptable.<ref name="Olivelle11pp">Olivelle pp. 11-2</ref> The ''[[Vasishtha|Vasishtha Dharmasutra]]'' regards the Uchchhista of the guru, equivalent to medicine that an ill student should have.<ref name="Olivelle311pp">Olivelle pp. 311</ref> In the Guru Stotram, it is said that the Guru is equivalent to the [[Trimurti]], hence, for the student, it is considered as taking [[prasadam]].

Exceptions to ''uchchhishta'' are given in the ''Vasishtha Dharmasutra''. Food remnants stuck in teeth or food currently in the mouth are not considered impure, as they are treated part of the mouth like teeth. Swallowing the same cleanses the individual. While pouring water for someone to drink, if drops of water fall on the person's feet; the drops are not Uchchhista, but considered part of the ground.<ref name="Davis225" />

The concept of ''uchchhishta'' focuses on purification by washing one's hands and mouth after eating.<ref name="Davis220" /> The cleansing is extended to the kitchen so that so no trace of ''uchchhishta'' or cooking of the meal before, is left.<ref name=":5" />

== Association with Hindu deities ==
[[File:Kalighat Matangi.jpg|thumb|The Hindu goddess Matangi is offered the taboo ''uchchhishta'' food by the devotee in the ritually impure ''uchchhishta'' state, with unwashed mouth and hands.]]
Offering ''uchchhishta'' food to Hindu deities or worship by an ''uchchhishta'' person is prohibited in mainstream Hinduism. However, the esoteric [[Tantra|Tantric]] goddess [[Matangi]] is recommended to be offered ''uchchhishta'' food, in the polluted ''uchchhishta'' state, with the remains of food in the mouth and hands; Matangi is associated with pollution and the outcaste and embodies the forbidden transgression of social norms.<ref>Kinsley pp. 214–6</ref> The goddess in a legend from the ''Shaktisamgama-tantram'' is also said to be born from ''uchchhishta''. The deity couples of [[Shiva]]-[[Parvati]] and [[Vishnu]]-[[Lakshmi]] dropped specks of food on the ground while eating. A divine maiden rose from the ''uchchhishta'' and asked for their ''uchchhishta''. The deities blessed her and gave her the name Uchchhishta-Matangini (Matangi).<ref>Kinsley p. 213</ref>

Another Tantric deity worshipped in the impure ''uchchhishta'' state is [[Uchchhishta Ganapati]] – a Tantric form of the elephant-headed god [[Ganesha]] – who also derives his name from ''uchchhishta''.<ref name="grewal">Grewal pp. 122–3</ref>

While Matangi is offered human ''uchchhishta'', the goddess [[Vimala Temple|Vimala]] is offered divine ''uchchhishta'' of the god [[Jagannath]], a form of Vishnu. Vimala is the Tantric consort of Jagannath and the guardian goddess of the [[Jagannath Temple, Puri|Jagannath Temple]], [[Puri]] – the principal temple of the god. Vimala is said to be survive of the ''uchchhishta'' of Jagannath; vegetarian food offerings to Jagannath are offered to Vimala, after which they are sanctified as [[Mahaprasad (Jagannath Temple)|Mahaprasad]] (prasad). A legend justifies this tradition. Once, Shiva ate a food grain, the ''uchchhishta'' of Vishnu as the latter's prasad. Half the grain stuck in Shiva's bread; however the sage [[Narada]] noticed it and ate it. Parvati, was upset that her rightful share of Vishnu's prasad had been eaten by Narada. In a peeved mood, she went to Vishnu and complained. Vishnu pacified her saying that in the [[Kali Yuga]] (the present era as per Hindu beliefs), she would live at Puri as Vimala, and would daily eat the remnants of his food.<ref name="Bimala">{{cite journal|last=Tripathy|first=Shrinibas|date=September 2009|title=Goddess Bimala at Puri|url=http://Odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Odishareview/2009/September/engpdf/66-69.pdf|journal=Odisha Review|publisher=Government of Odisha e-Magazine|pages=66–69|access-date=23 November 2012}}</ref>

In later versions of the [[Hindu Epic|Hindu epic]] ''[[Ramayana]]'', [[Shabari]], a forest dweller woman, is instructed by her guru to wait for the arrival of the god [[Rama]] in her hermitage. She daily collects wild berries tasting them once for sourness, keeping only the sweet ones and discarding the bitter ones so that she could offer the god Rama only sweet berries, when he visits her. Unknowingly, the berries become ''uchchhishta''. Over time, she ages to an elderly woman. When Rama finally visits her hermitage, Shabari offers him the ''uchchhishta'' berries. [[Lakshmana]], Rama's brother, objects to the impurity of the ''uchchhishta'' berries, unworthy to be eaten. However, Rama accepts the ''uchchhishta'' berries, as they offered it with great love and devotion.<ref>Khare p. 108</ref><ref>Keshavadas pp. 121–5</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Etiquette of Indian dining]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book | last=Smith | first=D. | title=Hinduism and Modernity | publisher=Wiley India Pvt. Limited | year=2008 | isbn=978-81-265-1628-5 }}
* {{Cite book |title=The Dharmasutras: The Law Codes of Ancient India |last=Olivelle |first=Patrick |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 |isbn=0-19-283882-2}}
* {{cite book |editor1=Olivelle, Patrick|editor2=Davis Jr., Donald R.| title=Hindu Law: A New History of Dharmaśāstra | publisher=Oxford University Press | series=Oxford history of Hinduism | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-19-870260-3 }}
* {{cite book | last=Khare | first=R.S. | title=The Eternal Food: Gastronomic Ideas and Experiences of Hindus and Buddhists | publisher=State University of New York Press | series=SUNY series in Hinduism | year=1992 | isbn=978-0-7914-1057-8 }}
* {{cite book | last=Dundes | first=A. | title=Two Tales of Crow and Sparrow: A Freudian Folkloristic Essay on Caste and Untouchability | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield | year=1997 | isbn=978-0-8476-8457-1}}
*{{cite book|title=The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India|last=Fuller|first=C.J.|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-691-12048-5|series=Asian studies / religion}}
*{{cite book|title=Tantric visions of the divine feminine: the ten mahāvidyās|last=Kinsley|first=David R.|publisher=University of California Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-520-20499-7}}
*{{cite book|author=Royina Grewal|title=Book of Ganesha|year=2009|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-93-5118-091-3}}
*{{cite book|title=Ramayana at a Glance|last=Keshavadas|first=S.S.|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1988|isbn=978-81-208-0545-3}}
*{{cite book|title=New Routes for Diaspora Studies|editor1=Banerjee, Sukanya|last=Roy|first=Parama|chapter=Empire, anglo India, and the Ailmentary Canal|editor2=McGuinness, Aims|editor3=McKay, Steven C.|date=2012|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-00601-1}}
*{{cite book|title=New Indian Home Cooking: More Than 100 Delicious Nutritional, and Easy Low-fat Recipes!|author=Gadia, Madhu|publisher=Penguin|year=2000|isbn=978-1-55788-343-8}}

[[Category:Indian cuisine]]
[[Category:Culture of India]]
[[Category:Taboo]]
[[Category:Dining etiquette]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]
[[Category:Religious food and drink]]
[[Category:Food and drink in Hinduism]]
[[Category:Food and drink culture]]

Uchchhishta - Revision history

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