Shloka 78
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
दिवसे सप्तदशमे य: प्राप्ते प्राशते हवि:,जो मनुष्य बारह महीनोंतक प्रतिदिन अग्निहोत्र करता हुआ सोलह दिन उपवास करके सत्रहवें दिन केवल हविष्यात्र भोजन करता है, वह वरुण, इन्द्र, रुद्र, मरुत, शुक्राचार्यजी तथा ब्रह्माजीके लोकमें जाता है और उन लोकोंमें देवताओंकी कन्याएँ आसन देकर उसका पूजन करती हैं
divase saptadaśame yaḥ prāpte prāśate haviḥ | yo manuṣyaḥ dvādaśa māsān pratidinam agnihotraṃ kurvan ṣoḍaśa-dināni upavāsya saptadaśe dine kevalaṃ havyāśyaṃ bhojanaṃ karoti, sa varuṇa-indra-rudra-marut-śukrācārya-brahma-lokeṣu gacchati; teṣu lokeṣu devakanyā āsanaṃ dattvā tasya pūjāṃ kurvanti ||
Bhishma said: When the seventeenth day arrives, the person who has maintained the daily Agnihotra for twelve months, then fasted for sixteen days, and on the seventeenth day eats only a simple haviṣya meal, attains the exalted realms of Varuṇa, Indra, Rudra, the Maruts, Śukrācārya, and Brahmā. In those worlds, celestial maidens honor him, offering him a seat and worship.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sustained ritual duty (daily Agnihotra) combined with disciplined austerity (sixteen-day fast and a simple haviṣya meal on the seventeenth day) is presented as a dharmic practice that yields exalted spiritual merit, culminating in attainment of divine realms and honor among celestial beings.
Bhishma is instructing on religious observances and their fruits. He describes a specific vow-like regimen—one year of daily Agnihotra, followed by sixteen days of fasting and a haviṣya meal on day seventeen—and states the heavenly destinations and honors that accrue to the practitioner.