Shloka 110
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
सदा द्वादशमासांस्तु नियतो नियताशन: । जितेन्द्रियो वीतरागो जुह्मानो जातवेदसम्,जो लगातार बारह महीनोंतक मन और इन्द्रियोंको संयममें रखकर मिताहारी हो छब्बीसवें दिन एक बार भोजन करता है तथा वीतराग और जितेन्द्रिय हो प्रतिदिन अग्निमें आहुति देता है, वह महाभाग मनुष्य अप्सराओंसे पूजित हो सात मरुदगणों और आठ वसुओंके लोकोंमें जाता है
sadā dvādaśa-māsāṁs tu niyato niyatāśanaḥ | jitendriyo vītarāgo juhmāno jātavedasam ||
Bhīṣma said: “One who, for a full twelve months, lives under discipline—measured in food, self-controlled, and free from attachment—offering daily oblations into the sacred fire (Agni), attains exalted worlds. Honoured by the Apsarases, that virtuous person goes to the realms of the Marut hosts and the eight Vasus. The teaching praises sustained restraint, regulated living, and faithful sacrificial duty as a path to higher spiritual reward.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sustained discipline—regulated diet, mastery of the senses, freedom from attachment, and daily fire-offerings—constitutes a powerful dharmic practice that yields elevated spiritual results. The verse links inner restraint (jitendriya, vītarāga) with outer ritual fidelity (homa to Agni).
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and the fruits of vows and austerities. Here he describes the merit of a year-long regulated observance with daily offerings to Agni, stating that such a practitioner is honoured by celestial beings and attains the worlds associated with the Maruts and the eight Vasus.