Shloka 4
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
उपवास: परं पुण्यमुपवास: परायणम् | उपोष्येह नरश्रेष्ठ कि फल प्रतिपद्यते,नरश्रेष्ठ) कहते हैं, उपवास बहुत बड़ा पुण्य है और उपवास सबसे बड़ा आश्रय है; परंतु उपवास करके यहाँ मनुष्य कौन-सा फल पाता है?
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: Upavāsaḥ paraṁ puṇyam upavāsaḥ parāyaṇam | Upoṣyeha naraśreṣṭha kiṁ phalaṁ pratipadyate ||
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «Se proclama que el ayuno es sumamente meritorio; se habla del ayuno como el más alto refugio. Pero, oh el mejor de los hombres, cuando uno ayuna en este mundo, ¿qué fruto obtiene en verdad?»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry: fasting is praised as highly meritorious and a supreme spiritual support, but Yudhiṣṭhira asks for clarity about its concrete ‘fruit’—what inner or karmic result it yields—so that the practice is understood as purposeful discipline rather than mere deprivation.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a revered interlocutor (‘best of men’) and requests an explanation of the benefits of upavāsa, setting up a didactic response about religious observances and their outcomes.