Shloka 157
य इदं पठते पर्व शृणुयाद् वापि नित्यश: । स मुच्यते महापापै: कृतैघोरिश्व॒ कर्मभि:,जो प्रतिदिन इस पर्वको पढ़ता अथवा सुनता है, वह पहलेके किये हुए बड़े-बड़े पापों तथा घोर कर्मोसे मुक्त हो जाता है
ya idaṃ paṭhate parva śṛṇuyād vāpi nityaśaḥ | sa mucyate mahāpāpaiḥ kṛtaiḥ ghoraiś ca karmabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Whoever regularly recites this section of the epic, or even listens to it daily, is released from great sins and from the dreadful deeds previously committed. The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s self-understanding as a moral and purificatory scripture: sustained engagement with its narration is presented as a discipline that turns the mind toward dharma and loosens the burden of past wrongdoing.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Regular recitation or attentive listening to the Mahābhārata is portrayed as spiritually transformative: it purifies the listener/reader, diminishing the weight of past sins by orienting one toward dharma and ethical reflection.
This is a phalaśruti-style statement spoken by Sañjaya, pausing the war narrative to declare the merit (spiritual benefit) of reading or hearing this parva regularly.