Shloka 93
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
एकविंशे तु दिवसे यो भुड्क्ते होकभोजनम्
ekaviṁśe tu divase yo bhuṅkte hokabhojanam, sevyamāno varastrībhiḥ krīḍaty amaravat prabhuḥ |
Bhīṣma dit : «Celui qui, observant la discipline de l’Agnihotra quotidien, ne mange qu’une seule fois au vingt et unième jour—un repas simple et réglé—atteint les mondes célestes. Là, assis dans un splendide char aérien et servi par des femmes d’élite, il vit tel un seigneur parmi les immortels, se jouant dans la jouissance divine, sans que la peine l’effleure.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links disciplined ritual observance and regulated eating (a form of tapas and niyama) with auspicious karmic results—attainment of higher worlds and freedom from sorrow—presenting self-restraint and fidelity to sacred duty as ethically potent.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the fruits of vows and rites. Here he describes the exalted posthumous condition of one who maintains Agnihotra and follows a strict regimen culminating in eating once on the twenty-first day, enjoying divine status and pleasures in celestial realms.