Shloka 32
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
दिवसे सप्तमे यस्तु प्राश्नीयादेकभोजनम्
divase saptame yas tu prāśnīyād ekabhojanam | yo dvādaśa māsān prati saptame dine ekakālaṁ bhuṅkte, pratidinam agnau āhutiṁ dadāti, vāṇīṁ saṁyamya brahmacaryaṁ carati, puṣpamālā-candana-madhu-māṁsāni ca sadā tyajati, sa marudgaṇaiḥ saha indraloke gacchati ||
Bhīṣma dit : Celui qui, chaque septième jour, ne prend qu’un seul repas—et maintient cette discipline durant douze mois—tout en versant chaque jour des oblations dans le feu sacré, en maîtrisant sa parole et en observant le brahmacarya ; et qui renonce à jamais aux guirlandes de fleurs, au santal, au miel et à la viande—celui-là atteint le monde d’Indra, demeurant parmi les Maruts.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sustained austerity joined with purity—regulated eating, daily fire-offerings, restraint of speech, and brahmacarya—along with renunciation of sensual enjoyments, is presented as a dharmic discipline that yields high spiritual merit and leads to Indra’s heaven among the Maruts.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma through vows and observances. Here he describes a specific year-long vrata: eating once on every seventh day, performing daily āhutis, practicing verbal restraint and brahmacarya, and giving up certain pleasures; he then states the फल (result)—attainment of Indraloka with the Maruts.