Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 24
Adhyāya 60: Dāna vs. Yajña—Royal Giving, Protection, and Karmic Share
उपवासं च दीक्षां च अभिषेकं च पार्थिव । कृत्वा द्वादशवर्षाणि वीरस्थानाद् विशिष्यते
upavāsaṃ ca dīkṣāṃ ca abhiṣekaṃ ca pārthiva | kṛtvā dvādaśavarṣāṇi vīrasthānād viśiṣyate ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “O hari, ang sinumang magsagawa ng pag-aayuno (upavāsa), tumanggap ng panatang disiplina (dīkṣā), at ng banal na paliligo/pagpapahid (abhiṣeka) sa loob ng labindalawang taon, ay makakamit ang kalagayang higit pa sa ‘antas ng bayani’ na nakukuha sa kagitingan sa digmaan.”
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.