An open dining pavilion with teak columns, terracotta roof and low wooden tables set for a meal

Nourish | Anna Purna Shala

Sattvic Bhojan: cleanse from within.

Nourish | What makes food Sattvic

Food for a clear and quiet mind.

Sattva means purity, harmony and goodness. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna describes three kinds of food, after the three qualities of nature, the gunas. Sattvic food is the first: fresh, wholesome and pleasing, the kind that brings strength, steadiness and joy.

Sattva

Fresh, light and wholesome food that leaves you clear, calm and content. This is the food of Anna Purna Shala.

Rajas

Very spicy, salty, sour or stimulating food, which excites the senses and makes the mind restless.

Tamas

Stale, reheated, heavily processed or intoxicating food, which leaves the body heavy and the mind dull.

Nourish | On the plate

From the garden, in season.

A Sattvic kitchen cooks simply and lightly, by steaming, boiling and gentle sautéing, so the flavour of each ingredient comes through. Traditionally it leaves out meat, eggs, onion and garlic, alcohol, refined flour and anything stale.

Fresh & seasonal

Vegetables, greens and fruit from the Sanjeevani Vatika, picked for that day’s kitchen.

Whole grains

Millets, hand-pounded rice, whole wheat, lentils and sattu: simple and sustaining.

From the Goshala

Milk, curd, buttermilk and ghee from cows that are lovingly cared for.

Gentle spices

Turmeric, cumin, coriander and ginger, with rock salt and cold-pressed oils.

Herbs & drinks

Tulsi, amla, herbal teas, coconut water and buttermilk in place of coffee.

Nourish | The way we eat

Food as an offering.

The Taittiriya Upanishad calls food Brahman, and the medicine of all beings. In the Vedic way, a meal is received as prasad, cooked with a clean kitchen and a calm mind, and eaten with gratitude.

Annam Brahma: food is sacred. The care that goes into cooking it is part of what it gives.

Eat when hungryAt regular times, with the main meals in the late morning and early evening.

Half, quarter, quarterFill the stomach half with food and a quarter with liquid, and leave a quarter empty.

Slowly, with attentionChew well, sip slowly, and let the meal be a quiet pause in the day.

Fresh, not storedCooked for the meal and eaten warm, rather than kept and reheated.

An early supperFinish the evening meal at least two hours before sleep.

With gratitudeA moment of thanks to the land, the cows, the cooks and the season.

A stone fire pit ringed by wooden benches on a lawn at sunset

Nourish | Agnihotra Circle

Fire, dusk and music.

As the sun goes down, gather around a stone fire circle among the trees. The evening Agnihotra marks the turn from day to night, and on many evenings it is followed by quiet conversation or live acoustic music under the open sky.

Also at La Aranya

Keep exploring.

A tiled timber treatment pavilion with a massage table and cotton drapes, in a misty forest

Heal

Ayur-Shala

The Vedic spa: Ayurveda in the Kerala tradition, in forest treatment pavilions.

A stone-stepped pool scattered with rose petals, terracotta basins at its edge and the Ganga beyond at dawn

Heal

Vaidya Kund

A bathing pool blessed with Gangajal, infused each dawn with Tulsi, Neem and rose petals.

An octagonal bamboo yoga deck under a cane roof, reaching toward the river

Heal

Prana Deck

An octagonal bamboo platform for sunrise pranayama and gentle yoga, open to the river.

Concept in development

Help shape La Aranya.

Booking is not open yet. Your view will shape what we build. We would love to hear:

Would you stay here on a visit to Varanasi?
Which offerings matter most to you?
What is missing?