Mahabharata — Svargarohana Parva, Shloka 99
दक्षिणा चात्र देया वै निष्कपञ्चसुवर्णकम् | वाचकाय यथाशकक्त्या यथोक्तं फलमिच्छता
vaiśampāyana uvāca | dakṣiṇā cātra deyā vai niṣkapañcasuvarṇakam | vācakāya yathāśaktyā yathoktaṁ phalam icchatā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Here, too, a gratuity must certainly be given—five gold niṣkas—as a sacrificial fee. One who desires the fruit declared in the śāstras should, after hearing the Mahābhārata, give this to the reciter according to his means, honoring the transmission of sacred teaching through proper giving.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacred learning is to be honored through appropriate giving: after hearing the Mahābhārata, one should offer a dakṣiṇā to the reciter according to one’s means, aligning personal conduct with scriptural prescriptions for merit.
In the concluding instructional context of the Svargārohaṇa section, Vaiśampāyana states a practical rule for listeners: the reciter of the Mahābhārata should be rewarded with a prescribed honorarium—symbolically expressed as five gold niṣkas—so that the listener may obtain the declared fruit of the hearing.