Shloka 45

उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit

Angiras Teaching

Devanagari script

अष्टमेन तु भक्तेन जीवन्‌ संवत्सरं नृप

Transliteration

aṣṭamena tu bhaktena jīvan saṃvatsaraṃ nṛpa

Translation

O king, by living for a full year with the devotion of the eighth kind, one attains the intended religious fruit—showing that sustained, disciplined devotion is itself a powerful means of dharma.

Word by Word

• अष्टमेन: with the eighth (portion/meal/act)
• अष्टमेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टम
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• भक्तेन: with food; by a meal/portion of food
• भक्तेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• जीवन्: living; while living
• जीवन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: जीवत्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• संवत्सरम्: a year
• संवत्सरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: संवत्सर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

अंगियरा उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Aṅgiras (speaker)
• nṛpa (the king addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes that devotion is not merely a momentary feeling but a sustained discipline: maintaining a prescribed form of devotion for an entire year is presented as a potent dharmic practice that yields spiritual merit.

What is happening in the narrative?

Aṅgiras addresses a king and describes the efficacy of a particular (eighth) mode of devotion, stating that living with it for a year brings the intended religious result, as part of a broader instruction on dharma and observances.