Shloka 1366
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
महर्षित्वमथासाद्य सशरीरगतिर्भवेत् । दस वर्षोतक एक-एक मास उपवास करके एकतीसवें दिन भोजन करनेवाला पुरुष उत्तम स्वर्ग लोकको जाता है। वह महर्षि पदको प्राप्त होकर सशरीर दिव्यलोककी यात्रा करता है
maharṣitvam athāsādya saśarīragatir bhavet | daśa varṣotaka eka-eka māsa upavāsa kṛtvā ekatriṃśe dine bhojanaṃ kurvan puruṣa uttamaṃ svargalokaṃ gacchati | sa maharṣipadaṃ prāpya saśarīraṃ divyalokaṃ yātrāṃ karoti |
Bhishma berkata: Setelah mencapai martabat maharishi, seseorang bahkan dapat melangkah lebih jauh bersama tubuhnya sendiri. Lelaki yang selama sepuluh tahun, setiap bulan berpuasa dan hanya makan pada hari ketiga puluh satu, akan pergi ke syurga yang tertinggi. Setelah meraih darjat rishi agung, dia mengembara ke alam ketuhanan dengan tubuh yang telah ditransfigurasikan.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sustained austerity—specifically long-term, disciplined fasting with strict regulation of eating—is presented as a powerful dharmic practice that yields extraordinary spiritual merit, culminating in attainment of the highest heaven and even a ‘bodily’ passage to a divine realm.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he describes the फल (result) of a particular vrata: a person who fasts each month and eats only on the thirty-first day, continuing this for ten years, gains the status of a great rishi and reaches Svarga/Divyaloka, portrayed as an exalted post-mortem (or transfigured) destination.