Shloka 62
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
बालसूर्यप्रतीकाशे विमाने हेमवर्चसि । वैदूर्यमुक्ताखचिते वीणामुरजनादिते
Aṅgirā uvāca: bāla-sūrya-pratīkāśe vimāne hema-varcasi | vaidūrya-muktā-khacite vīṇā-muraja-nādite ||
Aṅgirā said: “He who, observing the vow of fasting (anāśana-vrata), relinquishes his body, attains a lofty reward. He is borne in a celestial chariot—radiant like the morning sun, glowing with golden splendor, inlaid with vaidūrya gems and pearls, resonant with the music of the vīṇā and the muraja drum—illumined by banners and lamps and echoing with divine bell-sounds, and there, accompanied by thousands of apsarases, he enjoys heavenly delights.”
अंगियरा उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches that rigorous religious observance—specifically the vow of fasting culminating in relinquishing the body—is portrayed as generating extraordinary merit, rewarded with radiant, luxurious heavenly enjoyment. Ethically, it frames self-discipline and vow-keeping as powerful means to attain posthumous फल (phala), though the broader tradition also stresses that such acts must be aligned with dharma and right intention.
Sage Aṅgirā describes the फल (result) granted to a person who undertakes an anāśana-vrata and dies thereby: the person is carried in a splendid vimāna, shining like the morning sun, adorned with gems and pearls, filled with celestial music and bell-sounds, and accompanied by apsarases while enjoying divine pleasures.