Shloka 55
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
पित्रये पज्चदशं ज्ञेयं यक्षलोके चतुर्दश । एकं शतसहसंर तु मानुषेषु प्रभाषितम्
pitrye pañcadaśaṃ jñeyaṃ yakṣaloke caturdaśa | ekaṃ śatasahasraṃ tu mānuṣeṣu prabhāṣitam |
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Sachez que, dans le royaume des Pitṛ (les Ancêtres), il y en a quinze (lakhs), et dans le monde des Yakṣa, quatorze (lakhs) ; mais parmi les hommes, on le récite comme cent mille (vers).»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the epic’s sacred magnitude and layered transmission: different realms preserve larger recensions, while humans receive a condensed, recitable form. Ethically, it highlights stewardship—humans must faithfully preserve and learn the accessible version that carries dharma-teachings.
Vaiśampāyana is describing the traditional distribution of the Mahābhārata’s verse-count across realms: fifteen lakhs in the Pitṛ-world, fourteen lakhs in the Yakṣa-world, and one hundred thousand verses as the human recension that is publicly recited.