Shloka 55
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
स तस्मै दर्शन प्राप्तो दिवसे दिवसे भवेत् | वहाँ वह प्रलयकालीन अग्निके समान तेजस्वी शरीर धारण करके असंख्य वर्षोतक एक लाख एक हजार करोड़ वर्षोतक निवास करता हुआ प्रतिदिन देवदानव-सम्मानित भगवान् रुद्रको प्रणाम करता है। वे भगवान् उसे नित्य-प्रति दर्शन देते रहते हैं ।।
sa tasmai darśana-prāpto divase divase bhavet | tatra sa pralaya-kālīnāgni-samāna-tejasvī śarīraṃ dhārayitvā asaṅkhyeyāni varṣa-śatāni (śata-sahasrāṇi) nivasan pratidinaṃ deva-dānava-sammānitaṃ bhagavantaṃ rudraṃ praṇamati | sa bhagavān tasmai nitya-prati darśanaṃ dadāti || divase dvādaśe yas tu prāpte vai prāśnute haviḥ ||
स तस्मै दर्शनप्राप्तो दिवसे दिवसे भवेत् । युगान्ताग्निसमप्रभं शरीरं समवाप्य सः ॥ वर्षाण्यपरिमेयानि तत्र वासं करोति ह । नित्यं देवदानवसम्मतं रुद्रं प्रणमत्यसौ ॥ स भगवान् तदा तस्मै नित्यं दर्शनमृच्छति । दिवसे द्वादशे यस्तु प्राप्ते वै प्राशते हविः ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steady, daily reverence (praṇāma) to Rudra, combined with disciplined ritual life, culminates in sustained divine grace—expressed as nitya-prati darśana (daily divine audience). The verse emphasizes devotion that is consistent over time, not occasional, and portrays the Lord’s reciprocation through continual presence.
Bhishma describes a devotee who, in a transcendent realm, assumes a brilliantly radiant form (likened to pralaya-fire), lives for immeasurable ages, and each day bows to Rudra honored by both devas and danavas. Rudra grants him daily darśana; the closing line introduces a ritual detail about the twelfth day and partaking of the havis (oblation), linking devotion with sacrificial observance.