Shloka 9
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
ऋषिमंगिरसं पूर्व पृष्टवानस्मि भारत । यथा मां त्वं तथैवाहं पृष्टवांस्तं तपोधनम्,भारत! जिस तरह आज तुमने मुझसे प्रश्न किया है इसी प्रकार मैंने भी पूर्वकालमें तपोधन अंगिरा मुनिसे प्रश्न किया था
ṛṣim aṅgirasaṃ pūrvaṃ pṛṣṭavān asmi bhārata | yathā māṃ tvaṃ tathaivāhaṃ pṛṣṭavāṃs taṃ tapodhanam ||
Bhīṣma dit : Ô Bhārata, jadis j’interrogeai le sage Aṅgiras. De même que tu m’as questionné aujourd’hui, ainsi questionnai-je alors cet ascète riche en austérités.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the legitimacy of dharma-instruction through a lineage of inquiry: Bhīṣma frames his answer as grounded in earlier questioning of a venerable sage, showing that ethical knowledge is preserved and transmitted through respectful questioning and authoritative sources.
Bhīṣma, responding to Yudhiṣṭhira’s question, introduces a precedent from his own past: he once asked the same kind of question to the ascetic sage Aṅgiras, and he is now conveying that received teaching to the king.