Shloka 43
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
दशवर्षसहस्राणि स्वर्गलोके महीयते । जो पूरे एक वर्षतक दो-दो दिनपर भोजन करके रहता है तथा साथ ही अहिंसा, सत्य और इन्द्रिय-संयमका पालन करता है, वह वाजपेय यज्ञका फल पाता है और दस हजार वर्षोतक स्वर्गलोकमें प्रतिष्ठित होता है । ४१-४२ ई ।।
daśavarṣasahasrāṇi svargaloke mahīyate | ṣaṣṭhe kāle tu kaunteya naraḥ saṃvatsaraṃ kṣipan |
Aṅgiras said: “He is honored in the heavenly world for ten thousand years. And, O son of Kuntī, when a man passes a full year observing the sixth-time regimen—taking food only on alternate days—while also upholding non-violence, truthfulness, and restraint of the senses, he attains the merit of a Vājapeya sacrifice and gains long-standing eminence in heaven.”
अंगियरा उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sustained austerity—specifically eating on alternate days for a year—when grounded in non-violence, truth, and sense-restraint, can yield merit comparable to an eminent Vedic sacrifice (Vājapeya), leading to prolonged honor in heaven.
The sage Aṅgiras instructs Kaunteya (Yudhiṣṭhira) about the spiritual efficacy of a particular vrata/discipline, linking ethical virtues and bodily restraint to the high rewards traditionally associated with grand ritual performance.