In Mauryan India, the meal (bhojana) is not divided into starter-main-dessert but is organized around the six tastes (ṣaḍrasa: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, astringent) that a balanced meal must contain. One sits on the floor to eat, with rice (anna) at the center of a banana leaf or copper plate, surrounded by dal (supa), vegetables, curd, a drink, and a sweet. For an ascetic like Chanakya, this service remains simple: few dishes, much moderation.

Ghee is the liquid gold of ancient Indian cuisine, praised both by culinary treatises and Ayurvedic medicine. Poured over rice, sizzling with spices at the start of cooking, it binds each dish. Chanakya, who weighed every treasure, knew that a ghee lamp illuminates and a spoonful of ghee nourishes: nothing is wasted.