Shloka 166
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
उपोष्य व्याधिरहितो वीर्यवानभिजायते । कुरुनन्दन! जो पुरुष भगवान्की आराधनाका इच्छुक होकर पंचमी, षष्ठी, अष्टमी तथा कृष्णपक्षकी चतुर्दशीको अपने घरपर ब्राह्मणोंको भोजन कराता है और स्वयं उपवास करता है, वह रोगरहित और बलवान होता है
upoṣya vyādhir-ahito vīryavān abhijāyate | kurunandana! yo puruṣo bhagavān-ārādhanāyā icchukaḥ san pañcamī-ṣaṣṭhī-aṣṭamī tathā kṛṣṇapakṣasya caturdaśyāṁ svagṛhe brāhmaṇān bhojayati svayaṁ copavāsam ācarati, sa rogarahito balavān bhavati |
Aṅgiras dijo: «Por el ayuno, el hombre queda libre de enfermedad y se ve colmado de vigor. ¡Oh alegría de los Kurus! Aquel que, deseoso de adorar al Señor, da de comer a los brahmanes en su propia casa en los días quinto, sexto y octavo del mes lunar, y en el decimocuarto día de la quincena oscura (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa), mientras él mismo observa el ayuno—ese hombre se vuelve sano y fuerte».
अंगियरा उवाच
Educational Q&A
Devotional discipline (upavāsa) combined with charitable hospitality (feeding Brāhmaṇas on specified lunar days) is presented as a dharmic practice that yields tangible fruits—freedom from illness and increased strength—linking religious observance with ethical giving and personal self-restraint.
The sage Aṅgiras instructs a Kuru prince (addressed as Kurunandana) about a specific pattern of observances: on certain tithis—pañcamī, ṣaṣṭhī, aṣṭamī, and kṛṣṇapakṣa-caturdaśī—one should host and feed Brahmins at home while personally fasting, as an act of worship toward Bhagavān.