Shloka 142

मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity

Devanagari script

उपवासानिमान्‌ कृत्वा गच्छेच्च परमां गतिम्‌ । देवद्विजातिपूजायां रतो भरतसत्तम,भरतश्रेष्ठ) देवताओं और ब्राह्मणोंकी पूजामें तत्पर रहकर जो इन उपवासोंका पालन करता है, वह परमगतिको प्राप्त होता है

Transliteration

upavāsān imān kṛtvā gacchec ca paramāṃ gatim | devadvijātipūjāyāṃ rato bharatasattama ||

Translation

భీష్ముడు పలికెను— ఓ భరతశ్రేష్ఠా! ఈ ఉపవాసములను ఆచరించి దేవతలకును ద్విజులకును (బ్రాహ్మణులకు) పూజలో నిమగ్నుడై యుండువాడు పరమగతిని పొందును.

Word by Word

उपवासान्fasts

इमान्these

कृत्वाhaving done/observed

गच्छेत्would go/attains

चand

परमाम्supreme

गतिम्state/goal (destination)

देव-द्विजाति-पूजायाम्in the worship of gods and the twice-born (Brahmins)

रतःdevoted/engaged

भरत-सत्तमO best of the Bharatas

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Yudhiṣṭhira (implied by 'bharatasattama')

Devas

Dvijāti (Brahmanas/twice-born)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Observing prescribed fasts, together with sincere reverence toward the gods and the twice-born (Brahmanas), is presented as a dharmic discipline that leads to the highest spiritual attainment (paramā gati).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma; here he concludes a set of teachings on specific fasts/vows by stating their फल (result): devotion expressed through fasting and worship leads to the supreme goal.