Shloka 39
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
कीर्ति प्रथणता लोके पाण्डवानां महात्मनाम् | अन््येषां क्षत्रियाणां च भूरिद्रविणतेजसाम्,सर्वज्ञ, विधिविधानके ज्ञाता, धर्मज्ञ, साधु, इन्द्रियातीत ज्ञानसे सम्पन्न, शुद्ध, तपके प्रभावसे पवित्र अन्तःकरणवाले, ऐश्वर्यसम्पन्न, सांख्य एवं योगके विद्वान् तथा अनेक शास्त्रोंके पारदर्शी मुनिवर व्यासजीने दिव्य दृष्टिसे देखकर महात्मा पाण्डवों तथा अन्य प्रचुर धनसम्पन्न महातेजस्वी राजाओंकी कीर्तिका प्रसार करनेके लिये इस इतिहासकी रचना की है
kīrti-prathanatā loke pāṇḍavānāṃ mahātmanām | anyeṣāṃ kṣatriyāṇāṃ ca bhūri-draviṇa-tejasām | sarvajñaḥ vidhi-vidhānake jñātā dharmajñaḥ sādhuḥ indriyātīta-jñāna-sampannaḥ śuddhaḥ tapaḥ-prabhāvena pavitrāntaḥkaraṇavān aiśvarya-sampannaḥ sāṅkhya-yoga-vidvān tathā aneka-śāstra-pāradarśī munivaraḥ vyāsaḥ divya-dṛṣṭyā dṛṣṭvā mahātmā-pāṇḍavān anyāṃś ca pracura-dhana-sampannān mahātejasvinaḥ rājñaḥ kīrti-prasāraṇāya asya itihāsasya racanāṃ cakāra
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: In order that the fame of the great-souled Pāṇḍavas—and of other kṣatriya kings, rich in wealth and radiant in prowess—might spread throughout the world, the sage Vyāsa, all-knowing, skilled in the ordinances of sacred law, a knower of dharma and a true saint, endowed with knowledge beyond the senses, pure, his inner being cleansed by the power of austerity, possessed of spiritual majesty, learned in Sāṅkhya and Yoga, and deeply versed in many śāstras, beheld all this with divine sight and composed this history.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the Mahābhārata as an itihāsa composed to preserve and spread exemplary fame rooted in dharma: noble conduct, rightful kingship, and the ethical weight of actions are made memorable through narrative, guided by Vyāsa’s purified insight and śāstric mastery.
Vaiśaṃpāyana explains why the epic was composed: Vyāsa, endowed with divine sight and spiritual authority, created this history so that the renown of the Pāṇḍavas and other powerful kings would be known widely in the world.