Shloka 90
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
पूर्णेडथ विंशे दिवसे यो भुड्क्ते होकभोजनम्
Bhīṣma uvāca: pūrṇe ’tha viṁśe divase yo bhuṅkte ekabhōjanam, sa lokān vipulān ramyān ādityānām upāśnute.
Wika ni Bhishma: “Ang sinumang, kapag lumipas ang ganap na dalawampung araw, ay kumain lamang ng isang beses—namumuhay sa katotohanan at mahigpit na pagtalima sa panata, umiiwas sa karne, nag-iingat ng brahmacarya, at laging nakatuon sa kapakanan ng lahat ng nilalang—siya’y makararating sa malalawak at maririkit na daigdig ng Diyos na Araw (mga Āditya).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that rigorous self-restraint—especially regulated eating (one meal after twenty days), truthfulness, vow-observance, non-meat diet, celibacy, and active concern for the welfare of all beings—leads to exalted spiritual merit and attainment of radiant heavenly realms associated with the Sun (Ādityas).
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma instructs on dharma and the fruits of various vows and disciplines. Here he describes a specific austerity of infrequent single-meal observance and lists accompanying ethical restraints, concluding with the promised result: reaching the vast, pleasant worlds of the Sun-god.