Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 52
Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)
आत्मानमुपजीवन् यो दीक्षां द्वादशवार्षिकीम् । ह॒त्वाग्नौ देहमुत्सूज्य वह्विलोके महीयते
ātmānam upajīvan yo dīkṣāṃ dvādaśavārṣikīm | hatvāgnau deham utsṛjya vahniloke mahīyate ||
摩醯湿伐罗说道：“若有人自力而生，受持十二年灌顶誓戒，继而将此身投入火中作为供献而舍离之——此人必受尊崇，在阿耆尼（火神）之界获得显赫。”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse extols rigorous vow-observance (dīkṣā) sustained through self-reliance and culminating in a total sacrificial offering of oneself; such extreme tapas is said to yield exalted posthumous attainment in Agni’s realm, emphasizing the Mahābhārata theme that disciplined austerity and ritual resolve bear powerful spiritual फल (results).
Maheśvara describes a specific ascetic trajectory: a person undertakes a twelve-year consecrated observance while sustaining life independently, and at its completion relinquishes the body by consigning it to fire; the stated outcome is honor and elevation in Vahniloka, the world of the Fire-god.