Shloka 85
Āśramadharma and the Marks of the Muni
Yayāti–Aṣṭaka Saṃvāda
इति श्रीमहाभारते आदिपर्वणि सम्भवपर्वणि ययात्युपाख्याने पूर्वयायातसमाप्तौ पज्चाशीतितमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate ādiparvaṇi sambhavaparvaṇi yayātyupākhyāne pūrvayayātasamāptau pañcāśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ
এইদৰে শ্ৰীমহাভাৰতৰ আদিপৰ্বৰ সম্ভৱপৰ্বত যযাত্যুপাখ্যানৰ পূৰ্বাংশ সমাপ্ত হ’ল; ইয়াত পঁচাশি-তম অধ্যায় শেষ হ’ল।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
This verse is a colophon rather than a doctrinal statement: it teaches how the Mahābhārata is organized into nested units (parva → sub-parva/section → upākhyāna → adhyāya). Such markers encourage readers to treat each completed narrative unit as a coherent lesson—often ethical or political—before moving on.
The narrator signals a formal chapter ending: within the Yayāti episode, the ‘earlier portion’ has concluded, and the text closes the eighty-fifth chapter. It functions as a transition point before the story continues in the next chapter.