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 dijo: «Quien, observando el voto de ayuno (anāśana-vrata), abandona su cuerpo, alcanza una recompensa excelsa. Es llevado en un vimāna celestial—radiante como el sol de la mañana, de esplendor dorado, incrustado con gemas vaidūrya y perlas, resonante con la música de la vīṇā y el tambor muraja—iluminado por estandartes y lámparas, y vibrante con campanas divinas; allí, acompañado por miles de apsarases, goza de delicias celestiales».
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.