Shloka 16
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
तृतीये दिवसे यस्तु प्राश्नीयादेकभोजनम् | सदा द्वादशमासांस्तु जुह्दानो जातवेदसम्
tṛtīye divase yas tu prāśnīyād ekabhojanam | sadā dvādaśamāsāṁs tu juhvāno jātavedasam ||
भीष्म उवाच—यस्तु तृतीये दिवसे एकभोजनं प्राश्नीयात्, स च द्वादशमासान् सदा जातवेदसं जुह्वानोऽग्नौ आहुतीः क्षिपेत्, स अतिरात्रयज्ञस्य परमं श्रेष्ठं फलं प्राप्नोति।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sustained self-restraint in food (eating only once every third day) combined with steady fire-offerings for a full year is presented as a powerful dharmic discipline, yielding merit comparable to the eminent Atirātra sacrifice.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma and religious observances, he describes a specific austerity-and-sacrifice regimen and states the spiritual reward it confers—namely, the highest fruit associated with the Atirātra rite.