मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
षड्विंशे दिवसे यस्तु प्रकुयदिकभोजनम्
ṣaḍviṃśe divase yas tu prakūyādika-bhojanam | sa lagātāra bāraha māsān manasendriyāṇi saṃyamya mitāhārī bhūtvā ṣaḍviṃśe divase ekavāraṃ bhuṅkte | vītarāgo jitendriyaś ca san pratidinam agnau āhutiṃ juhoti | sa mahābhāgo manuṣya apsarobhiḥ pūjitaḥ sapta-marudgaṇānāṃ ca aṣṭa-vasūnāṃ ca lokeṣu gacchati ||
भीष्म म्हणाले— जो मनुष्य छब्बीसाव्या दिवशी एकदाच भोजन करतो आणि सलग बारा महिने मन व इंद्रिये संयमात ठेवून मिताहारी राहतो; जो वीतराग, जितेंद्रिय होऊन प्रतिदिन अग्नीत आहुती देतो— तो महाभाग पुरुष अप्सरांनी पूजिला जाऊन सात मरुद्गण व आठ वसूं यांच्या लोकांना प्राप्त होतो.
भीष्म उवाच
Sustained discipline—moderate eating, restraint of mind and senses, dispassion, and daily fire-offerings—produces spiritual merit that culminates in exalted heavenly attainments.
Bhīṣma continues his instruction on vows and austerities, describing a specific long-term regimen (twelve months of restraint with a single meal on the twenty-sixth day) and the celestial reward: being honored by Apsarases and reaching the realms associated with the Maruts and the Vasus.