Shloka 21
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
माघं तु नियतो मासमेकभक्तेन य:ः क्षिपेत् श्रीमत्कुले ज्ञातिमध्ये स महत्त्व प्रपद्यते
māghaṃ tu niyato māsam ekabhaktena yaḥ kṣipet | śrīmatkule jñātimadhye sa mahattvaṃ prapadyate ||
Dijo Aṅgirā: Quien, observando un voto disciplinado, pase el mes de Māgha tomando sólo una comida al día, nace en una familia próspera y alcanza honor y preeminencia entre sus parientes.
अंगियरा उवाच
Educational Q&A
Disciplined self-restraint—specifically observing the Māgha-month vow of eating once daily—generates merit that ripens into auspicious worldly results: birth in a prosperous family and honor among one’s relatives. The verse links ethical regulation of appetite with social and karmic uplift.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on vows and religious observances, the sage Aṅgirā states a specific fruit (phala) of a Māgha-month discipline: the practitioner who completes the month with a one-meal regimen attains prominence and esteem within his lineage.