Shloka 32
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
दिवसे सप्तमे यस्तु प्राश्नीयादेकभोजनम्,जो बारह महीनोंतक प्रति सातवें दिन एक समय भोजन करता, प्रतिदिन अम्निमें आहुति देता, वाणीको संयममें रखता और ब्रह्मचर्यका पालन करता एवं फूलोंकी माला, चन्दन, मधु और मांसका सदाके लिये त्याग कर देता है, वह पुरुष मरुद्गणों तथा इन्द्रके लोकमें जाता है
divase saptame yas tu prāśnīyād ekabhojanam | yo dvādaśa māsān prati saptame dine ekakālaṁ bhuṅkte, pratidinam agnau āhutiṁ dadāti, vāṇīṁ saṁyamya brahmacaryaṁ carati, puṣpamālā-candana-madhu-māṁsāni ca sadā tyajati, sa marudgaṇaiḥ saha indraloke gacchati ||
Bhīṣma said: Whoever, on every seventh day, takes only a single meal—keeping this discipline for twelve months—while offering daily oblations into the sacred fire, restraining speech, and observing brahmacarya; and who renounces for good garlands of flowers, sandalwood, honey, and meat—such a man attains the world of Indra, dwelling among the Maruts.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sustained austerity joined with purity—regulated eating, daily fire-offerings, restraint of speech, and brahmacarya—along with renunciation of sensual enjoyments, is presented as a dharmic discipline that yields high spiritual merit and leads to Indra’s heaven among the Maruts.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma through vows and observances. Here he describes a specific year-long vrata: eating once on every seventh day, performing daily āhutis, practicing verbal restraint and brahmacarya, and giving up certain pleasures; he then states the फल (result)—attainment of Indraloka with the Maruts.