Shloka 14
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
पज्चम्यां वापि षष्ठ्यां च पौर्णमास्यां च भारत । उपोष्य एकभक्तेन नियतात्मा जितेन्द्रिय:
pañcamyāṃ vāpi ṣaṣṭhyāṃ ca paurṇamāsyāṃ ca bhārata | upoṣya ekabhaktena niyatātmā jitendriyaḥ ||
Aṅgiras said: “O Bhārata, if a person, with mind disciplined and senses conquered, observes a fast on the fifth day, the sixth day, and on the full-moon day—taking only a single meal (and abstaining at the other time)—he becomes forgiving in nature, endowed with good form and presence, and learned. Such a wise man does not fall into childlessness or poverty.”
अंगियरा उवाच
Educational Q&A
Regular, disciplined fasting on specific lunar days—paired with restraint of mind and senses and the ekabhakta practice (one meal)—is presented as a dharmic austerity that cultivates virtues (especially forgiveness) and supports well-being, learning, and stability in household life.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and observances, the sage Aṅgiras addresses “Bhārata” and recommends a vrata: fasting on pañcamī, ṣaṣṭhī, and paurṇamāsī with self-control, describing the ethical and worldly fruits attributed to this practice.