Shloka 13
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
चतुर्थभक्तक्षपणं वैश्ये शूद्रे विधीयते । त्रिरात्रं नतु धर्मजिविंहितं धर्मदर्शिभि:
caturthabhaktakṣapaṇaṃ vaiśye śūdre vidhīyate | trirātraṃ na tu dharmajīvihitaṃ dharmadarśibhiḥ ||
अङ्गिरा उवाच—वैश्यशूद्रयोश्चतुर्थभक्तत्याग एव प्रायश्चित्तं विधीयते; तदर्थं द्विरात्रद्विदिनात्मक उपवासः। धर्मदर्शिभिर्धर्मविद्भिश्च तेषां त्रिरात्रोपवासो न विहितो धर्मजीवितनियमः।
अंगियरा उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a differentiated rule of expiatory fasting: for Vaiśyas and Śūdras, the dharma-authorities prescribe a shorter fast (up to the ‘fourth meal-time,’ understood as two days and two nights), not the stricter three-night fast.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and penances, the sage Aṅgiras explains the appropriate duration of fasting as expiation for different social orders, clarifying that a three-night fast is not enjoined for Vaiśyas and Śūdras in this context.