Shloka 953
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
सेव्यमानो वरस्त्रीभि: क्रीडत्यमरवत् प्रभु: । जो लगातार बारह महीनोंतक प्रतिदिन अग्निहोत्र करता हुआ इक्कीसवें दिनपर एक बार भोजन करता है, वह शुक्राचार्य तथा इन्द्रके दिव्यलोकमें जाता है। इतना ही नहीं, उसे अश्विनीकुमारों और मरुद्गणोंके लोकोंकी भी प्राप्ति होती है। उन लोकोंमें वह सदा सुख भोगनेमें ही तत्पर रहता है। दुःखोंका तो वह नाम भी नहीं जानता है और श्रेष्ठ विमानपर विराजमान हो सुन्दरी स्त्रियोंसे सेवित होता हुआ शक्तिशाली देवताके समान क्रीड़ा करता है
sevyamāno varastrībhiḥ krīḍaty amaravat prabhuḥ |
Bhishma explains the heavenly reward of rigorous Vedic observance: one who performs the Agnihotra daily for a full year and then, on the twenty-first day, eats only once, attains the radiant worlds associated with Śukrācārya and Indra, and also reaches the realms of the Aśvinīkumāras and the Marut hosts. There, free from the very notion of sorrow, he abides in uninterrupted enjoyment—seated in a splendid aerial car, attended by beautiful women, and sporting like a mighty god among the immortals.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Strict, sustained performance of prescribed Vedic rites—paired with restraint in eating—generates great puṇya, leading to exalted heavenly attainments and freedom from suffering in those realms.
Bhīṣma is describing the फल (result) of a specific observance: daily Agnihotra for twelve months and a regulated single meal on the twenty-first day, culminating in the enjoyments and status of a godlike being in various divine worlds.