Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
धर्मे चार्थे च कामे च मोक्षे च भरतर्षभ । यदिहास्ति तदन्यत्र यन्नेहास्ति न कुत्रचित्
dharme cārthe ca kāme ca mokṣe ca bharatarṣabha | yad ihāsti tad anyatra yan nehāsti na kutracit ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Stier unter den Bharatas: Was immer hier im Mahābhārata über Dharma, Artha (weltliches Wohlergehen), Kāma (Begehren) und Mokṣa (Befreiung) gelehrt wird, findet sich auch anderswo; doch was hier nicht zu finden ist, findet sich nirgends.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse asserts the Mahābhārata’s comprehensive scope: it encompasses the full range of human aims—dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa—and presents itself as a complete ethical and philosophical compendium; what is absent from it is considered unattainable elsewhere.
In the closing movement of the epic (Svargārohaṇa), Vaiśampāyana offers a concluding, evaluative statement about the Mahābhārata itself, summarizing its authority and breadth as a guide for conduct, worldly life, and liberation.