Shloka 19
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
निवर्तनं च तत्रास्य त्रीणि पद्मानि चैव ह । उसे मोरोंसे जुता हुआ विमान प्राप्त होता है और वह सदा सप्तर्षियोंके लोकमें अप्सराओंके साथ निवास करता है। वहाँ तीन पद्म वर्षोतक वह निवास करता है ॥| १८३ || दिवसे यश्नतुर्थे तु प्राश्नीयादेकभोजनम्
nivartanaṃ ca tatrāsya trīṇi padmāni caiva ha | divase yajña-caturthe tu prāśnīyād eka-bhojanam ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Ali também há para ele um retorno (a um estado mais elevado) e, de fato, uma permanência ali por três ‘padmas’ (uma medida vastíssima de tempo). E se, mantendo o Agnihotra diário, ele comer apenas uma vez a cada quarto dia durante doze meses, alcança o fruto supremamente excelente do sacrifício Vājapeya.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steady performance of one’s sacred duties (like Agnihotra) combined with disciplined restraint in consumption can generate merit equal to that of grand sacrifices; inner discipline can substitute for costly ritual grandeur.
Bhīṣma is instructing on dharma by describing a specific observance: maintaining daily Agnihotra while eating only once every fourth day for a year, and stating that this yields the highest fruit comparable to the Vājapeya sacrifice, along with long residence in an exalted state.