Shloka 48
Āstīka’s Commission and Approach to Janamejaya’s Sarpa-satra (आस्तीक-प्रेषणं यज्ञप्रवेशोपक्रमश्च)
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत आदिपरवके अन्तर्गत आस्तीकपव॑र्में आस्तीककी उत्पत्तिविषयक अड़तालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Iti prakāraṁ Śrīmahābhārata Ādiparva-ke antargata Āstīkaparva-meṁ Āstīkasya utpatti-viṣayaka aṣṭacatvāriṁśattamaḥ adhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ.
وهكذا تنتهي في «شري مهابهاراتا» ضمن «آدي بَرفا» فقرة «آستِيكا»، الفصل الثامن والأربعون، في بيان مولد آستِيكا وأصله.
तक्षक उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon-style closing, it underscores disciplined preservation of narrative tradition: chapters are framed as complete units, and the epic’s ethical world treats origins and lineage (utpatti) as meaningful for understanding dharma and rightful identity.
This line is not a spoken dialogue but an editorial/narrative closure indicating that the forty-eighth chapter—on Āstīka’s origin—has concluded within the Āstīka Parva of the Ādi Parva.