Shloka 24
Adhyāya 60: Dāna vs. Yajña—Royal Giving, Protection, and Karmic Share
उपवासं च दीक्षां च अभिषेकं च पार्थिव । कृत्वा द्वादशवर्षाणि वीरस्थानाद् विशिष्यते,“पृथ्वीनाथ! बारह वर्षोतक सम्पूर्ण भोगोंका त्याग, दीक्षा (जप आदि नियमोंका ग्रहण) तथा तीनों समय स्नान करनेसे वीर पुरुषोंकी अपेक्षा भी श्रेष्ठ गति प्राप्ति होती है
upavāsaṃ ca dīkṣāṃ ca abhiṣekaṃ ca pārthiva | kṛtvā dvādaśavarṣāṇi vīrasthānād viśiṣyate ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai raja, dengan menjalani puasa (upavāsa), disiplin bersumpah (dīkṣā), serta mandi/penyiraman suci (abhiṣeka) selama dua belas tahun, seseorang mencapai kedudukan yang lebih tinggi bahkan daripada ‘martabat pahlawan’ yang diraih melalui keberanian perang.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sustained ascetic discipline—fasting, vowed observances, and purificatory rites maintained over a long period—can yield spiritual merit and a superior destiny, even surpassing the merit traditionally attributed to heroic martial valor.
Vaiśampāyana, in a didactic context within the Anuśāsana Parva, explains to a king that long-term religious observances (upavāsa, dīkṣā, abhiṣeka) confer an exalted result, presented as higher than the famed ‘hero’s station’ associated with valor.