Shloka 25
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
जो स्त्री अथवा पुरुष इन्द्रियसंयमपूर्वक एक समय भोजन करके वैशाख मासको पार करता है, वह सजातीय बन्धु-बान्धवोंमें श्रेष्ठताको प्राप्त होता है ।।
aṅgirā uvāca |
yo strī athavā puruṣa indriyasaṃyamapūrvakaṃ ekakālaṃ bhojanaṃ kṛtvā vaiśākha-māsaṃ pārayati, sa sajātīya-bandhu-bāndhaveṣu śreṣṭhatāṃ prāpnoti ||
jyeṣṭha-mūlaṃ tu yo māsam ekabhaktena saṃkṣipet |
aiśvaryam atulaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ pumān strī vā prapadyate ||
Aṅgirā said: Whoever—woman or man—first restrains the senses and then passes the month of Vaiśākha by eating only once a day becomes preeminent among their own kin and relations. And whoever completes the month of Jyeṣṭha with a single daily meal attains incomparable and excellent prosperity, whether woman or man.
अंगियरा उवाच
Educational Q&A
Self-restraint expressed through a simple, disciplined vow—eating once daily during sacred months—cultivates merit that manifests as social esteem among one’s kin and as exceptional prosperity, regardless of gender.
In a didactic passage on vows and their fruits within the Anuśāsana Parva, the sage Aṅgirā instructs about monthly observances (Vaiśākha and Jyeṣṭha) and states the rewards promised for completing them with sense-control and single-meal discipline.