Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 13
Adhyāya 60: Dāna vs. Yajña—Royal Giving, Protection, and Karmic Share
गवाढ्यः शाकदीक्षाभ्रि: स्वर्गमाहुस्तृणाशिनाम् | स्त्रियस्त्रिषवर्णं स्नात्वा वायुं पीत्वा क्रतुं लभेत्
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | gavāḍhyaḥ śākadīkṣābhriḥ svargam āhus tṛṇāśinām | striyas triṣavarṇaṃ snātvā vāyuṃ pītvā kratuṃ labhet |
毗湿摩波耶那说道：“人们宣称：牛群丰足者，以及受持‘沙迦誓’（Śāka-vow）者，即便以草为食亦得升天。又如女子，于三次神圣时刻沐浴，持身如同‘饮风’（以气为食），亦能获得祭祀仪式之果报。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that heaven/merit can be attained not only through formal sacrifice but also through disciplined living—vows, restraint, and austerity. It also affirms that women, by observances such as regular purificatory bathing and severe self-restraint (fasting), can obtain the merit comparable to a sacrificial rite.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, reports a traditional doctrinal claim about the efficacy of certain vows and austerities: those living with extreme simplicity (even ‘grass-eaters’) and those undertaking specific dietary observances are said to reach heaven; similarly, women practicing prescribed purifications and austerities are said to gain sacrificial merit.