मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
दिवसे सप्तदशमे य: प्राप्ते प्राशते हवि:
divase saptadaśame yaḥ prāpte prāśate haviḥ | yo manuṣyaḥ dvādaśa māsān pratidinam agnihotraṃ kurvan ṣoḍaśa-dināni upavāsya saptadaśe dine kevalaṃ havyāśyaṃ bhojanaṃ karoti, sa varuṇa-indra-rudra-marut-śukrācārya-brahma-lokeṣu gacchati; teṣu lokeṣu devakanyā āsanaṃ dattvā tasya pūjāṃ kurvanti ||
ビーシュマは言った。「第十七日が来るとき、十二か月のあいだ日々アグニホートラ(火供)を怠らず、さらに十六日間断食し、第十七日に供物にかなう簡素なハヴィシュヤ(haviṣya)の食のみを取る者は、ヴァルナ、インドラ、ルドラ、マルット、ウシャナ(シュクラーチャーリヤ)、そしてブラフマーの諸界へと至る。その世界では天女たちが座を差し出し、敬って供養する。」
भीष्म उवाच
Sustained ritual duty (daily Agnihotra) combined with disciplined austerity (sixteen-day fast and a simple haviṣya meal on the seventeenth day) is presented as a dharmic practice that yields exalted spiritual merit, culminating in attainment of divine realms and honor among celestial beings.
Bhishma is instructing on religious observances and their fruits. He describes a specific vow-like regimen—one year of daily Agnihotra, followed by sixteen days of fasting and a haviṣya meal on day seventeen—and states the heavenly destinations and honors that accrue to the practitioner.