Shloka 63

उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit

Angiras Teaching

Devanagari script

पताकादीपिकाकीर्णे दिव्यघण्टानिनादिते । स्त्रीसहस्रानुचरिते स नर: सुखमेधते

Transliteration

aṅgirā uvāca |

patākādīpikākīrṇe divyaghaṇṭāninādite |

strīsahasrānucarite sa naraḥ sukham edhate ||

Translation

Aṅgirā dit : Dans ce char céleste—jonché d’étendards et de lampes, retentissant du son des cloches divines, et escorté par des milliers de femmes—un tel homme s’épanouit dans le bonheur. (Telle est la récompense du ciel promise à celui qui accomplit le vœu de jeûner jusqu’à la mort, renonçant au corps par l’austérité.)

Word by Word

• पताका-दीपिका-कीर्णे: in (a place/vehicle) strewn with flags and lamps
• पताका-दीपिका-कीर्णे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पताका + दीपिका + कीर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• दिव्य-घण्टा-निनादिते: in (a place/vehicle) resounding with divine bells
• दिव्य-घण्टा-निनादिते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य + घण्टा + निनादित
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• स्त्री-सहस्र-अनुचरिते: in (a place/vehicle) attended by thousands of women
• स्त्री-सहस्र-अनुचरिते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्त्री + सहस्र + अनुचरित
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नरः: man
• नरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सुखम्: happiness, comfort
• सुखम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• एधते: prospers, thrives
• Type: Verb
• Root: इध् (एध्) / एध्
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Atmanepada

Speaker

अंगियरा उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Aṅgirā (speaker)
• patākā (banners)
• dīpikā (lamps)
• divya-ghaṇṭā (divine bells)
• strī-sahasra (thousands of women/attendants)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents a karmic-ethical claim: rigorous self-restraint culminating in relinquishing the body through a vowed fast (anāśana-vrata, as explained in the surrounding prose) is said to yield exalted heavenly enjoyment—symbolized by a radiant, ornamented, celebratory celestial setting.

What is happening in the narrative?

Aṅgirā is describing the posthumous state of a practitioner of a severe vow: the person is envisioned as seated in a splendid celestial vehicle, surrounded by lights, banners, and divine sounds, attended by many women, and thereby ‘thriving in happiness’ as the fruit of the vow.