Acharya Mahaprajna
When Should We Have Our Meal
From the point of view of health, the time to take a meal is after sunrise. If we examine in detail Mahavira's theory in this regard, it can be said that the time for having a meal should be 48 minutes after sunrise.
Navkarasi is the famous Jain formula. It means avoidance of eating anything within 48 minutes after sunrise.
From the point of view of health, it is also said that no cereals or heavy food should be eaten until two or three hours have passed after sunrise. The reason for this is clear. The digestive system remains inactive during the night. After sunrise, when we receive the rays of the sun, the digestive system is activated. Till such time that it becomes fully activated, only the food which is easily digestible can be beneficial. Whatever is eaten when the digestive system is inactive remains like half-eaten or half-cooked food. There are no digestive secretions when the digestive system is inactive as a result of which the food that is eaten is not digested. This leads to digestive disorders.
