Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
स नर: सर्वकामांश्व कीर्ति प्राप्पेह शौनक । गच्छेत् परमिकां सिद्धिमत्र मे नास्ति संशय:
sa naraḥ sarvakāmāṁś ca kīrtiṁ prāpya iha śaunaka | gacchet paramikāṁ siddhim atra me nāsti saṁśayaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: O Śaunaka, der Mann, der diese von Vyāsa verfasste heilige Geschichte hört—tief an Sinn und dem Veda vergleichbar—und dabei die Brāhmaṇas an die Spitze stellt, gewinnt in dieser Welt alle gewünschten Genüsse und edlen Ruhm und gelangt danach zur höchsten Vollkommenheit. Daran habe ich nicht den geringsten Zweifel.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse presents a phalaśruti: reverent listening to Vyāsa’s Mahābhārata—treated as Veda-like in depth and authority, and undertaken with due honor to Brāhmaṇas—yields both worldly fulfillment (desired enjoyments and good fame) and the highest spiritual attainment (paramā siddhi).
At the close of the epic’s concluding section, Vaiśampāyana addresses Śaunaka and affirms the fruit of hearing this sacred history. It functions as a concluding assurance that the Mahābhārata’s recitation/listening, performed properly, brings auspicious results without doubt.