Shloka 45
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
अश्वमेधसहस्रस्य फल प्राप्रोत्यनुत्तमम् रूपवत्यश्नल तं कन्या रमयन्ति सनातनम्
aśvamedha-sahasrasya phalaṁ prāpnoty anuttamam | rūpavatyaś ca taṁ kanyā ramayanti sanātanam ||
वह सहस्र अश्वमेध यज्ञों के समान अनुपम फल प्राप्त करता है; और रूपवती कन्याएँ उस सनातन पुरुष को आनन्दित करती हैं।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a phala-śruti: it magnifies the spiritual reward of the praised practice by equating it with the merit of a thousand Aśvamedha sacrifices, presenting it as a supreme (anuttama) attainment.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the fruits of religious acts; here he states that the doer gains the highest merit—likened to vast sacrificial reward—and is portrayed as being delighted by beautiful maidens, a conventional image of heavenly enjoyment.