Shloka 24
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
य: स नारायणो नाम देवदेव: सनातन: । तस्यांशो वासुदेवस्तु कर्मणो<डन्ते विवेश ह
yaḥ sa nārāyaṇo nāma devadevaḥ sanātanaḥ | tasyāṁśo vāsudevas tu karmaṇo 'nte viveśa ha ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “He who is known as Nārāyaṇa—the eternal God of gods—had an emanated portion as Vāsudeva; and that divine portion entered (the world) at the close of the destined course of events.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms a theological view that Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) is an aṁśa (emanated portion) of the eternal supreme deity Nārāyaṇa, suggesting that divine intervention operates within the moral and causal order (karma) at decisive turning points.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration near the conclusion of the epic, the text identifies the supreme Nārāyaṇa and states that his portion manifested as Vāsudeva, who entered the world at the culmination of the destined sequence of events—framing Kṛṣṇa’s role as providential within the Mahābhārata’s closing reflections.