History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c91.75

v7.c91.75

In pursuance of the same dominant principle the Anuśāsana-parva and Purāṇas extol fasts and vratas. The Anuśāsanaparva¹⁴⁹⁶ (107 5-6) remarks that fasts are equal to sacrifices in the matter of rewards They are put forward as superior to sacrifices in Padma.¹⁴⁹⁷ It says: Viṣṇuvrata is super-eminent; a hundred Vedic sacrifices are not equal to it, by performing a sacrifice one may go to heaven, but one who observes the Kārtikavrata goes to Vaikuṇṭha (the world of Viṣṇu) For the exaggerated importance attached to fasts and vratas, vide pp. 43-45 above.