मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
षड्विंशे दिवसे यस्तु प्रकुयदिकभोजनम्
ṣaḍviṃśe divase yas tu prakūyādika-bhojanam | sa lagātāra bāraha māsān manasendriyāṇi saṃyamya mitāhārī bhūtvā ṣaḍviṃśe divase ekavāraṃ bhuṅkte | vītarāgo jitendriyaś ca san pratidinam agnau āhutiṃ juhoti | sa mahābhāgo manuṣya apsarobhiḥ pūjitaḥ sapta-marudgaṇānāṃ ca aṣṭa-vasūnāṃ ca lokeṣu gacchati ||
Bhīṣma dit : «L’homme qui, le vingt-sixième jour, ne prend qu’un seul repas (après une discipline observée), et qui, durant douze mois sans interruption, maîtrise son esprit et ses sens, vivant d’une nourriture mesurée ; qui est sans attachement, maître de lui, et verse chaque jour des oblations dans le feu sacré, Agni—cet homme fortuné, honoré par les Apsaras, atteint les mondes célestes des sept cohortes des Maruts et des huit Vasus.»
भीष्म उवाच
Sustained discipline—moderate eating, restraint of mind and senses, dispassion, and daily fire-offerings—produces spiritual merit that culminates in exalted heavenly attainments.
Bhīṣma continues his instruction on vows and austerities, describing a specific long-term regimen (twelve months of restraint with a single meal on the twenty-sixth day) and the celestial reward: being honored by Apsarases and reaching the realms associated with the Maruts and the Vasus.