Shloka 108
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
गन्धर्वयक्षरक्षांसि श्रावयामास वै शुक: । अस्मिंस्तु मानुषे लोके वैशम्पायन उतक्तवान्,शुकदेवजीने गन्धर्व, यक्ष तथा राक्षसोंको महाभारतकी कथा सुनायी है; परंतु इस मनुष्यलोकमें सम्पूर्ण वेदवेत्ताओंके शिरोमणि व्यास-शिष्य धर्मात्मा वैशम्पायनजीने इसका प्रवचन किया है। मुनिवरो! वही एक लाख श्लोकोंका महाभारत आपलोग मुझसे श्रवण कीजिये
gandharvayakṣarakṣāṃsi śrāvayāmāsa vai śukaḥ | asmiṃstu mānuṣe loke vaiśampāyana uvāca ||
Śuka, it is said, recited this tale for Gandharvas, Yakṣas, and Rākṣasas; but in this human world it was Vaiśampāyana who proclaimed it. Thus the tradition is presented as a sacred transmission: the same Mahābhārata, fit for beings of many realms, is authoritatively taught among humans through a disciplined lineage of teacher and disciple, inviting listeners to receive it with reverence and ethical attentiveness.
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the authority of the Mahābhārata through lineage and transmission: a sacred narrative is preserved and made trustworthy by disciplined recitation within a teacher–disciple tradition, and it is presented as universally meaningful across different realms of beings.
The text identifies two settings of recitation: Śuka recited the story to non-human classes (Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas), while in the human realm Vaiśampāyana is the one who proclaims it—framing the Mahābhārata’s entry into the human audience through Vaiśampāyana’s authoritative narration.