What the texts say
Charaka calls this matra viruddha, incompatibility by quantity, so the clause is about equal measure. Sushruta (Sutra 20.15) also says not to eat honey and ghee equal in measure. The Ashtanga Hridaya (Sutra 7.40) goes further: even unequal parts are incompatible if rainwater is drunk after them.[1][2][3]
The modern view
Two rat studies disagree, and neither compared equal with unequal amounts, which is the point of the rule. In a 2020 study, 24 rats got honey, ghee, a 1:1 mix or nothing for 60 days. The mix group gained no weight over the 60 days, while the control rats doubled theirs. It also lost hair, had red ear patches, mild liver inflammation and a higher SGPT, a liver enzyme (58 against 44 IU/L). But the mix group was given about twice the volume of the single-food groups and started out heavier. In a 2010 study, rats fed honey mixed with ghee for six weeks showed no change in food intake, weight gain or organ weights.[4][5]
Animal
Questions people ask
Related
Heated honey (garam shahad)
Charaka says hot honey, and honey for someone suffering from heat, lead to death. Sushruta also warns against honey with hot things.
FoodCurd and ghee
In Charaka, ghee is one of the things curd should be eaten with, not a pair to avoid.
FoodCold water after ghee
Charaka says taking cold things after drinking ghee is incompatible. The rule is about ghee, not about water after every meal.
FoodMeat and honey
Charaka says not to eat the meat of domestic, marsh or water animals with honey, and warns of deafness, blindness, tremors or death.
Sources
- Charaka Samhita, Sutra Sthana 26.90 (Atreyabhadrakapyiya Adhyaya).
- Sushruta Samhita, Sutra Sthana 20.15, NIIMH e-text.
- Ashtanga Hridaya, Sutra Sthana 7.40, GRETIL e-text.
- Aditi P, Srivastava S, Pandey H, Tripathi YB. Toxicity profile of honey and ghee, when taken together in equal ratio. Toxicology Reports. 2020;7:624-636. PMID 32455119.
- Annapoorani A, Anilakumar KR, Khanum F, Murthy NA, Bawa AS. Studies on the physicochemical characteristics of heated honey, honey mixed with ghee and their food consumption pattern by rats. Ayu. 2010;31:141-146. PMID 22131701.
Updated 4 November 2026