Āraṇyaka-parva Adhyāya 277 — Sāvitrī-Upākhyāna: Aśvapati’s Vows and Sāvitrī’s Birth; Search for a Suitable Husband Begins
इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि रामोपाख्यानपर्वणि वानराघ्युत्पत्तौ षट्सप्तत्यधिकद्विशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi rāmopākhyānaparvaṇi vānarāghyutpattau ṣaṭsaptatyadhikadviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
وهكذا، في «المهابهاراتا» الشريفة، ضمن «فانا بارفا»، في القسم المعروف بـ«راموباخيانا»، في الخبر المتعلّق بنشأة (أُتبَتّي) جموع الفانارا، تنتهي هنا الفصلُ السادسُ والسبعون بعد المئتين.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: its function is to anchor the narrative within the Mahābhārata’s ethical landscape by marking the completion of a chapter in the Rāmopākhyāna. The implied lesson is contextual—stories of Rāma told in the forest-exile setting serve to reinforce dharma, steadfastness, and righteous perseverance amid adversity.
Mārkaṇḍeya’s discourse reaches a formal stopping point: the text announces that the chapter dealing with the origin of the Vānara hosts within the Rāmopākhyāna section of the Vana Parva has concluded. It is a structural marker used by the tradition to organize and authenticate the transmission of the epic.