Shloka 52
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
जो बारह महीनोंतक प्रतिदिन अग्निहोत्र करता हुआ प्रति ग्यारहवें दिन एक बार हविष्यान्न ग्रहण करता है
yo dvādaśa māsān pratidinam agnihotraṃ kurvan pratyekādaśe dine ekavāraṃ haviṣyānnaṃ gṛhṇāti, manaḥ-vāgbhyāṃ api kadācit parastrī-abhilāṣaṃ na karoti, mātā-pitṛbhyāṃ ca kṛte kadācid api mṛṣā na vadati, sa vimāne virājamānaṃ parama-śaktimantaṃ mahādevaṃ samīpaṃ gacchati, sahasra-aśvamedha-yajñānāṃ śreṣṭhatamaṃ phalaṃ prāpnoti. svāyambhuvaṃ ca paśyet vimānaṃ samupasthitam; kumāryaḥ kāñcanābhāsā rūpavatyo nayanti tam.
ビーシュマは言った。「十二か月のあいだ日々アグニホートラを修し、十一日ごとに一度だけ、供物の食（ハヴィス）だけを口にする者。心にも言葉にも、他人の妻を欲することなく、また父母のためであっても偽りを語らぬ者——その人は、天の車（ヴィマーナ）に坐す至上の威力をもつマハーデーヴァの御前に至り、千のアシュヴァメーダ祭に等しいと説かれる最上の果報を得る。さらに、自ら顕れ近づいた天車を見、黄金の光を放つ麗しき乙女たちが彼を先へと導く。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that disciplined daily duty (Agnihotra), periodic restraint in food, strict chastity even at the level of thought and speech, and unwavering truthfulness—even when speaking to one’s parents—together constitute a powerful dharmic life that yields the highest spiritual merit and divine proximity.
Bhishma describes the posthumous reward of a practitioner who follows these vows: a divine vimana appears, radiant celestial maidens escort him, and he is led to the presence of Mahadeva, gaining merit proclaimed superior to that of a thousand Ashvamedha sacrifices.