Shloka 89
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
वेदानध्यापयामास महाभारतपज्चमान् | सुमन्तुं जैमिनिं पैलं शुकं चैव स्वमात्मजम्,सर्वश्रेष्ठ वरदायक भगवान् व्यासने चारों वेदों तथा पाँचवें वेद महाभारतका अध्ययन सुमन्तु, जैमिनि, पैल, अपने पुत्र शुकदेव तथा मुझ वैशम्पायनको कराया। फिर उन सबने पृथक्-पृथक् महाभारतकी संहिताएँ प्रकाशित की
vedān adhyāpayāmāsa mahābhārata-pañcamān | sumantuṁ jaiminiṁ pailaṁ śukaṁ caiva svam ātmajam vaiśampāyanaṁ ca māṁ ca |
Daśa said: “The blessed Lord Vyāsa, supreme among sages and a giver of boons, taught the four Vedas and also the Mahābhārata, regarded as the ‘fifth Veda’, to Sumantu, Jaimini, Paila, his own son Śuka, and to me, Vaiśampāyana. Thereafter, each of them, in their own way, brought forth and propagated distinct recensions of the Mahābhārata.”
दाश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the sanctity and continuity of sacred knowledge: Vyāsa transmits both Vedic revelation and the Mahābhārata (as a dharma-bearing ‘fifth Veda’) through qualified disciples, showing that preserving and responsibly propagating tradition is itself a dharmic act.
Daśa reports how Vyāsa instructed multiple disciples—Sumantu, Jaimini, Paila, his son Śuka, and Vaiśampāyana—in the Vedas and the Mahābhārata, and how these disciples subsequently disseminated distinct versions/recensions of the Mahābhārata.