Shloka 141

Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि आपद्धर्मपर्वणि विश्वामित्रश्नपचसंवादे एकचत्वारिंशदधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi āpaddharmaparvaṇi viśvāmitra-śvapaca-saṃvāde ekacatvāriṃśad-adhika-śatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

وهكذا تنتهي، في «شري مهابهاراتا»، ضمن «شانتِي بارفا»—وخاصةً في قسم «آباددهرما» (الدارما في أزمنة الشدّة)—محاورةُ فيشفاميترا مع المنبوذ (śvapaca): وهو الفصل الحادي والأربعون بعد المئة. ويؤطّر هذا الخاتمُ ما سبق من تعليمٍ بوصفه هدايةً إلى الدارما تحت الضرورة القصوى، حيث ينبغي أن يُتَّخذ الحكم الأخلاقي بعنايةٍ بحسب السياق والبقاء، من غير التفريط بروح الاستقامة.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the revered Mahabharata

शान्तिपर्वणिin the Shanti Parva

आपद्धर्मपर्वणिin the Apaddharma section (parvan)

विश्वामित्रश्नपचसंवादेin the dialogue of Vishvamitra and the outcaste (śvapaca)

एकचत्वारिंशदधिकशततमःthe one-hundred-and-forty-first

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Śānti Parva

Āpaddharma Parva

Viśvāmitra

Śvapaca

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

As a chapter-ending colophon, the verse signals that the preceding material belongs to Āpaddharma—ethical reasoning under crisis—implying that dharma must be applied with sensitivity to necessity, context, and the preservation of life, while still aiming to uphold righteousness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma concludes a unit of instruction by marking the end of the chapter: it is situated in the Śānti Parva, within the Āpaddharma section, and specifically identifies the just-finished dialogue between the sage Viśvāmitra and a śvapaca (outcaste interlocutor).