Shloka 21
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
माघं तु नियतो मासमेकभक्तेन य:ः क्षिपेत् श्रीमत्कुले ज्ञातिमध्ये स महत्त्व प्रपद्यते
māghaṃ tu niyato māsam ekabhaktena yaḥ kṣipet | śrīmatkule jñātimadhye sa mahattvaṃ prapadyate ||
安祇罗说道：凡以戒律自持、守持誓愿者，若于摩伽月（Māgha）每日仅食一餐而度之，便将生于富盛之家，并在宗亲之中得尊荣与显达。
अंगियरा उवाच
Educational Q&A
Disciplined self-restraint—specifically observing the Māgha-month vow of eating once daily—generates merit that ripens into auspicious worldly results: birth in a prosperous family and honor among one’s relatives. The verse links ethical regulation of appetite with social and karmic uplift.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on vows and religious observances, the sage Aṅgirā states a specific fruit (phala) of a Māgha-month discipline: the practitioner who completes the month with a one-meal regimen attains prominence and esteem within his lineage.