Shloka 2
य॑य॑ प्रार्थयते काम॑ त॑ त॑ प्राप्नोत्यसंशयम् । नारी वा पुरुषो वापि शुचि: प्रयतमानस:,वह जिस-जिस मनोवाञ्छित वस्तुके लिये प्रार्थना करता है, उसे निश्चय ही पा लेता है। स्त्री हो या पुरुष; शुद्ध एवं एकाग्रचित्त होकर इस वनपर्वका श्रवण अथवा पाठ करनेपर वस्त्र, गौ, सुवर्ण तथा रत्नोंके दानसे ब्राह्मणोंका सम्मान करके उन्हें खीर आदिका भोजन करावे
yaṁ yaṁ prārthayate kāmaṁ taṁ taṁ prāpnoty asaṁśayam | nārī vā puruṣo vāpi śuciḥ prayatamānasaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Whatever desired object a person prays for, that very object he or she attains without doubt. Whether woman or man—if one is pure and disciplined in mind—(the merit of) hearing or reciting this Vana-parvan is declared to be unfailing, bringing the fruits associated with pious giving and honoring the worthy.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the efficacy of sincere prayer joined with inner purity and mental discipline: when one is śuci (pure) and prayata-mānasa (self-controlled in mind), one’s sought-for aim is said to be attained ‘without doubt’—a typical phalaśruti-style assurance of spiritual fruit.
Vaiśaṃpāyana is delivering a phalaśruti (statement of benefits), praising the spiritual and ethical fruits of engaging with the Vana-parvan through hearing or recitation, and asserting that such disciplined devotion leads to the fulfillment of desired aims.