Jutha

In its most general sense, jutha refers
to any food that has come into contact
with saliva. Such contact is believed to render that food impure and unfit
for anyone else to eat. Since eating is traditionally done with one’s fingers, any food
on one’s plate after one has begun to eat is
considered contaminated by association,
even if it has not yet been taken into one’s
mouth. As with all bodily fluids, saliva is
considered particularly impure, a substance that “imprints” food with the nature
of the person eating it. Eating food from
the same plate is a sign of extreme closeness—most commonly done by husband
and wife, but also by very close friends.
Conversely, eating another’s person’s leftovers is a sign of extreme status difference—it is done only by people who are
desperately poor, by disciples as a sign of
devotion to their guru or religious leader,
or by devotees (bhakta) receiving prasad
or sanctified food, the vehicle for grace
from their chosen deity.