Shloka 403
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
तत्क्षयादिह चागम्य माहात्म्यं प्रतिपद्यते । वह पुरुष दस हजार वर्षोतक स्वर्गलोकमें प्रतिष्ठित होता है। फिर पुण्यक्षीण होनेपर इस लोकमें आकर महत्त्वपूर्ण स्थान प्राप्त कर लेता है
tatkṣayād iha cāgamya māhātmyaṃ pratipadyate | sa puruṣaḥ daśa-sahasra-varṣāṇi svargaloke pratiṣṭhito bhavati | punaḥ puṇya-kṣīṇe 'smin loke āgatya mahattva-sthānaṃ pratipadyate |
When that merit is exhausted, he returns here and attains revered eminence. Such a man remains established in the heavenly world for ten thousand years; and when his accumulated merit is spent, he comes back to this world and gains an honored, influential station—showing how righteous deeds yield both celestial reward and lasting worldly dignity.
अंगियरा उवाच
Educational Q&A
Meritorious, dharmic action yields a twofold result: a long stay in heaven and, after that merit is exhausted, a return to human life with enhanced honor and social standing—illustrating karma’s orderly fruition rather than permanent reward.
Aṅgiras explains the consequence of a certain virtuous act (implied by the surrounding discourse): the doer enjoys ten thousand years in Svarga, and when that store of merit is spent, he is reborn/returns to this world and attains a respected, eminent position.