Shloka 56
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
नारदो5श्रावयद् देवानसितो देवल: पितृन् | रक्षोयक्षात् शुको मर्त्यान् वैशम्पायन एव तु
nārado 'śrāvayad devān asito devalaḥ pitṝn | rakṣo-yakṣān śuko martyān vaiśampāyana eva tu ||
وَیشَمپایَن نے کہا— دیوتاؤں کو نارَد نے سنایا، پِتروں کو اَسِت دیول نے؛ یَکشوں اور راکشسوں کو شُک نے؛ اور انسانوں کو یہ مہابھارت-سنہتا سب سے پہلے خود وَیشَمپایَن نے سنائی۔
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the Mahābhārata’s universal scope and authority: it is not merely a human chronicle but a dharma-text transmitted through revered sages to all classes of beings, implying that its ethical guidance applies across realms and communities.
Vaiśampāyana describes the earliest dissemination of the Mahābhārata-saṃhitā: Nārada taught it among the gods, Asita Devala among the ancestors (Pitṛs), Śuka among Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, and Vaiśampāyana among humans—mapping a lineage of recitation and reception.