Shloka 16
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
यजिष्णु: पञ्चमीं षष्ठीं कुले भोजयते द्विजान् | अष्टमीमथ कौरव्य कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्दशीम्
yajiṣṇuḥ pañcamīṃ ṣaṣṭhīṃ kule bhojayate dvijān | aṣṭamīm atha kauravya kṛṣṇapakṣe caturdaśīm ||
Aṅgiras said: “A man devoted to sacrifice and sacred duty feeds Brahmins on the fifth and sixth lunar days within his family rites; and, O descendant of the Kurus, likewise on the eighth day, and on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa). Thus he sustains the learned with hospitality on auspicious tithis, strengthening dharma through disciplined giving.”
अंगियरा उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma is upheld through disciplined generosity: feeding learned Brahmins on specific lunar days (tithis) as part of family observance. Regular, rule-governed giving and hospitality are presented as a concrete practice of righteousness.
The sage Aṅgiras is instructing a Kuru-descended listener about prescribed days for hosting and feeding Brahmins—fifth, sixth, eighth, and the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight—within the broader Anuśāsana Parva discourse on duties, gifts, and religious observances.