Shloka 278

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि रामोपाख्यानपर्वणि मारीचवधे सीताहरणे च अष्टसप्तत्यधिकद्धिशततमो<5ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi rāmopākhyānaparvaṇi mārīcavadhe sītāharaṇe ca aṣṭasaptatyadhika-dviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

وهكذا، في «شري المهابهارتا»، ضمن «فانا بارفا»، في القسم المعروف بـ«راموباخيانا»، في خبر مقتل ماريتشا واختطاف سيتا، ينتهي الفصل الثامن والسبعون بعد المئتين. وهذه خاتمةٌ تُعلن تمام الفصل وتضع الحكاية في إطارها الأخلاقي ضمن قصة راما—حيث يبلغ الخداعُ والرغبةُ ذروتهما في الإثم، وتُمهد عواقبهما لقيام الردّ الموافق للدارما.

Word by Word

itithus; so

śrīmahābhāratein the venerable Mahābhārata

vanaparvaṇiin the Vana-parvan (Forest Book)

rāmopākhyānaparvaṇiin the Rāmopākhyāna-parvan (section on the Rāma narrative)

mārīcavadhein the slaying of Mārīca

sītāharaṇein the abduction of Sītā

caand

aṣṭasaptatyadhikahaving eight and seventy more (i.e., 78 more)

dviśatatamaḥtwo-hundredth (ordinal)

adhyāyaḥchapter

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Vana Parva

Rāmopākhyāna

Mārīca

Sītā

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

As a chapter-ending colophon, the line itself teaches by framing the episode: adharma expressed through deceit and unlawful desire (leading to Sītā’s abduction) inevitably triggers far-reaching consequences, calling forth a dharmic response and restoration of order.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is the formal closing statement of the chapter within the Rāmopākhyāna: it indicates that the chapter’s content covered Mārīca’s death and the abduction of Sītā, and it locates the episode within Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata.