Shloka 13
अन्नदानफलं (Anna-dāna-phala) / The Fruit of Food-Giving
भाद्रपदमासकी द्वादशी तिथिको उपवासपूर्वक हृषीकेश नामसे भगवान्की पूजा करनेवाला मनुष्य सौत्रामणि यज्ञका फल पाता और पवित्रात्मा होता है ।।
bhādrapadamāsakī dvādaśī tithau upavāsapūrvakaṃ hṛṣīkeśa-nāmase bhagavataḥ pūjāṃ kurvan manuṣyaḥ sautrāmaṇi-yajñasya phalaṃ prāpnoti ca pavitrātmā bhavati || dvādaśyām āśvine māsi padmanābheti cārcayan go-sahasra-phalaṃ puṇyaṃ prāptuyān nātra saṃśayaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: Whoever, on the twelfth lunar day in the month of Bhādrapada, first undertakes a fast and then worships the Blessed Lord under the name Hṛṣīkeśa, attains the merit of the Sautrāmaṇi sacrifice and becomes purified in spirit. Likewise, on the twelfth day in the month of Āśvina, one who worships the Lord as Padmanābha—fasting through day and night—gains the holy fruit equal to the gift of a thousand cows; of this there is no doubt.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that disciplined devotion—fasting (upavāsa) joined with worship (pūjā/arcana) of the Lord on specific sacred tithis—yields great spiritual merit and inner purification, comparable to major Vedic sacrifices and large-scale charity.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma enumerates observances (vratas) tied to the Dvādaśī tithi. He specifies the months Bhādrapada and Āśvina and the divine names Hṛṣīkeśa and Padmanābha, stating the corresponding fruits: Sautrāmaṇi-yajña merit and the merit of gifting a thousand cows.