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 ||
アンギラーは言った。「断食の誓い（アナーシャナ・ヴラタ）を守り、身を捨てる者は高き果報を得る。彼は天のヴィマーナに乗せられる——朝日のごとく輝き、黄金の光を放ち、ヴァイドゥーリヤと真珠をちりばめ、ヴィーナーとムラジャ太鼓の音に鳴り響き、旗と灯火に照らされ、天上の鈴の音がこだまする。そこにて幾千のアプサラスを伴い、天界の歓楽を味わう。」
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.