Shloka 10
Jñāna-yoga and Karma-phala: Manu–Bṛhaspati on Akṣara and the Limits of Mantra
सायं प्रातर्मनुष्याणामशन वेदनिर्मितम् । नान्तरा भोजन दृष्टमुपवासी तथा भवेत्
sāyaṃ prātar manuṣyāṇām aśanaṃ vedanirmitam | nāntarā bhojanaṃ dṛṣṭam upavāsī tathā bhavet ||
Bhīṣma said: “For human beings, the Veda has ordained eating at only two times—at evening and at morning. No rule is seen that permits eating in between. One who observes this discipline is regarded as an upavāsin, gaining the merit associated with fasting.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches restraint in food: eating only at the two prescribed times (morning and evening) is a dharmic discipline, and avoiding meals in between is treated as equivalent in merit to fasting.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct; here he lays down a rule of regulated eating grounded in Vedic authority, linking daily discipline with the spiritual fruit of upavāsa.