Of these, red rice is the best. It is adipsous and is effective in treating tridosha. The next best is the big rice and the next best is the kalamah and so on, in the order they are mentioned above.
Yavaka, hayana, pansu vapya (deep-water paddy), naishadhaka and other kinds of rice are similar to the above mentioned types of rice regarding their good and bad qualities.
[The qualities of shashtika and vrihi ] Shashtika rice is cold in potency, unctuous, not heavy, and sweet. It pacifies the three dosha and stabilizes them. The white variety is the best type of shashtika rice and the dark-white comes next in order
araka (Chinaka- Panicum miliaceum Linn), uddalaka (Vanakodrava- Paspalum scrobiculatum var. sommeronii Stapf.), china, sharada, ujjvala, dardura, the fragrant rice (gandhana), and kuruvinda are slightly different in quality from the shashtika rice.
Vrihi rice is sweet in taste and acidic after digestion, stimulates pitta and is heavy. The patala grain causes excessive urination and defecation, enhances body heat and also increases tridosha.