Shloka 78
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 ||
Бхишма сказал: Когда наступает семнадцатый день, тот, кто в течение двенадцати месяцев ежедневно совершал Агнихотру, затем постился шестнадцать дней и в семнадцатый день вкушал лишь простую пищу хавишья (haviṣya), достигает возвышенных миров — Варун̣ы, Индры, Рудры, Марутов, Шукрачарьи (Ушанаса) и Брахмы. В тех мирах небесные девы чтят его, предлагая сиденье и совершая поклонение.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.