Shloka 12
अन्नदानफलं (Anna-dāna-phala) / The Fruit of Food-Giving
तथा भाद्रपदे मासि हृषीकेशेति पूजयन् | सौत्रामणिमवाप्रोति पूतात्मा भवते च हि
tathā bhādrapade māsi hṛṣīkeśeti pūjayan | sautrāmaṇim avāpnoti pūtātmā bhavate ca hi ||
ভীষ্ম বললেন—তদ্রূপ ভাদ্রপদ মাসে যে ‘হৃষীকেশ’ নামে প্রভুর পূজা করে, সে সৌত্রামণি যজ্ঞের ফল লাভ করে; নিশ্চয়ই তার আত্মা পবিত্র হয়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that devotional worship of the Lord under a specific divine name (here, Hṛṣīkeśa) at an auspicious time (Bhādrapada) yields the same purificatory merit associated with a respected Vedic rite (Sautrāmaṇi), emphasizing inner purification as the ethical fruit.
In his instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira within the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues a sequence of observances tied to months and divine epithets, stating that worship in Bhādrapada addressing the deity as ‘Hṛṣīkeśa’ grants Sautrāmaṇi-like merit and purifies the worshipper.