Shloka 101
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
जो लगातार बारह महीनोंतक मिताहारी और जितेन्द्रिय होकर तेईसवें दिन एक बार भोजन करता है, वह वायु, शुक्राचार्य तथा रुद्रके लोकमें जाता है ।।
yo lagātāraṃ dvādaśa-māsebhyaḥ mitāhārī jitendriyaś ca bhūtvā trayoviṃśe dine ekavāraṃ bhojanaṃ karoti, sa vāyu-śukrācārya-rudra-lokeṣu gacchati. kāmacārī kāmagamaḥ pūjyamāno 'psarogaṇaiḥ, anekaguṇa-paryantaṃ vimāna-varaṃ āsthitaḥ.
Bhishma dijo: Quien, durante doce meses continuos, vive con alimento medido y con los sentidos dominados, tomando una sola comida únicamente en el vigésimo tercer día, alcanza los mundos de Vayu, de Shukracharya y de Rudra. Allí, moviéndose con libertad y obteniendo cuanto desea, honrado por huestes de apsaras, mora en un excelente carro celestial por un vasto lapso, multiplicado por el mérito.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sustained moderation in food (mitāhāra) and mastery over the senses (jitendriyatā), practiced as a long-term vow, is a dharmic austerity that generates great merit and leads to exalted posthumous attainments.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and religious observances, he describes a specific year-long regimen—eating only once on every twenty-third day—then states the heavenly rewards: access to divine realms (of Vayu, Shukra, and Rudra), honor by apsarases, and residence in a splendid celestial vimāna.