Shloka 93
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
एकविंशे तु दिवसे यो भुड्क्ते होकभोजनम्
ekaviṁśe tu divase yo bhuṅkte hokabhojanam, sevyamāno varastrībhiḥ krīḍaty amaravat prabhuḥ |
Bhīṣma disse: “Aquele que, mantendo a disciplina do Agnihotra diário, come apenas uma vez no vigésimo primeiro dia—tomando uma refeição simples e regrada—alcança os mundos celestes. Ali, sentado num esplêndido carro aéreo e servido por mulheres excelentes, vive como um senhor entre os imortais, em deleite divino, intocado pela dor.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links disciplined ritual observance and regulated eating (a form of tapas and niyama) with auspicious karmic results—attainment of higher worlds and freedom from sorrow—presenting self-restraint and fidelity to sacred duty as ethically potent.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the fruits of vows and rites. Here he describes the exalted posthumous condition of one who maintains Agnihotra and follows a strict regimen culminating in eating once on the twenty-first day, enjoying divine status and pleasures in celestial realms.