Shloka 55
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
पित्रये पज्चदशं ज्ञेयं यक्षलोके चतुर्दश । एकं शतसहसंर तु मानुषेषु प्रभाषितम्,उन्होंने पहले साठ लाख श्लोकोंकी महाभारत-संहिता बनायी थी। उसमें तीस लाख श्लोकोंकी संहिताका देवलोकमें प्रचार हुआ। पंद्रह लाखकी दूसरी संहिता पितृलोकमें प्रचलित हुई। चौदह लाख श्लोकोंकी तीसरी संहिताका यक्षलोकमें आदर हुआ तथा एक लाख श्लोकोंकी चौथी संहिता मनुष्योंमें प्रचारित हुई
pitrye pañcadaśaṃ jñeyaṃ yakṣaloke caturdaśa | ekaṃ śatasahasraṃ tu mānuṣeṣu prabhāṣitam |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Know that in the realm of the Pitṛs it is fifteen (lakhs), and in the world of the Yakṣas it is fourteen (lakhs); but among human beings it is recited as one hundred thousand (verses).” In context, this statement explains how the Mahābhārata tradition is understood to exist in different, larger recensions across cosmic realms, while the human transmission is the concise, teachable form—emphasizing the sacred vastness of the epic and the responsibility of preserving what is accessible to people.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the epic’s sacred magnitude and layered transmission: different realms preserve larger recensions, while humans receive a condensed, recitable form. Ethically, it highlights stewardship—humans must faithfully preserve and learn the accessible version that carries dharma-teachings.
Vaiśampāyana is describing the traditional distribution of the Mahābhārata’s verse-count across realms: fifteen lakhs in the Pitṛ-world, fourteen lakhs in the Yakṣa-world, and one hundred thousand verses as the human recension that is publicly recited.