Shloka 43
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
कोटीशतसहस्रं च तेषु लोकेषु मोदते । तथा वह पुण्डरीकके समान श्वेत वर्णोका विमान पाता है। दीप्तिमान् सूर्य और अग्निके समान तेजस्विनी और दिव्यमालाधारिणी रुद्रकन्याएँ उसे सनातन अन्तरिक्ष-लोकमें ले जाती हैं और वहाँ वह एक कल्प लाख करोड़ एवं अठारह हजार वर्षोतक सुख भोगता है ।।
koṭiśatasahasraṃ ca teṣu lokeṣu modate | tathā sa puṇḍarīkake samānaśvetavarṇakaṃ vimānaṃ prāpnoti | dīptimān sūryāgnisamaṃ tejasvinīṃ divyamālādhāriṇīś ca rudrakanyāḥ taṃ sanātane ’ntarikṣaloke nayanti | tatra sa ekaṃ kalpaṃ lakṣakoṭiṃ ca aṣṭādaśasahasraṃ varṣāṇi sukhaṃ bhuṅkte || yastu saṃvatsaraṃ bhuṅkte daśāhe vai gate gate
Dijo Bhīṣma: En esos mundos se regocija entre multitudes incontables. Alcanza un carro aéreo resplandeciente, blanco como el loto. Las hijas divinas de Rudra—ceñidas con guirnaldas celestiales, brillantes como el sol y el fuego—lo escoltan al eterno reino del cielo intermedio. Allí goza de dicha por un tiempo inmenso: un kalpa, y además por incontables lakhs y crores, y dieciocho mil años más. (Luego el pasaje continúa: «Pero aquel que participa durante un año, a medida que transcurre cada período de diez días…»)
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the doctrine of karmic fruition: righteous or meritorious conduct yields exalted posthumous results—joy in higher realms, divine conveyance (vimāna), and long-lasting bliss measured in cosmic time. It frames ethical living as having tangible metaphysical consequences.
Bhīṣma describes the reward granted to a meritorious person: he delights in celestial worlds, receives a lotus-white vimāna, and is escorted by radiant Rudra’s maidens to the eternal antarikṣa-loka, where he enjoys happiness for an immense duration. The final fragment signals a transition to the next rule or comparison involving ten-day periods and a year.