Shloka 204

Arjuna Restores a Brāhmaṇa’s Cattle and Accepts Forest Exile

Satya-vrata at Khaṇḍavaprastha

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत आदिपर्वके अन्तर्गत विदुरागमन-राज्यलम्भपर्वमें विदुरवाक्यविषयक दो सौ चौथा अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

Iti prakāraṁ Śrīmahābhārata Ādiparva-ke antargata Vidurāgamana-rājyalambha-parva-meṁ Vidura-vākya-viṣayaka do sau cauthā adhyāya pūrā huā.

Translation

So endet das zweihundertvierte Kapitel des Ādi Parva des Śrī Mahābhārata, im Abschnitt über Viduras Ankunft und den Erwerb der Herrschaft, das Viduras Rede behandelt.

Word by Word

इतिthus (end-quote marker)

प्रकारम्manner, way

श्रीमहाभारतम्the revered Mahabharata

आदिपर्वकेin the Adi-parvan (pertaining to the Adi Parva)

अन्तर्गतincluded, contained (within)

विदुरागमन-राज्यलम्भपर्वणिin the parvan (section) 'Vidura's arrival' and 'attainment of kingdom'

विदुरवाक्यविषयकconcerning Vidura's words

द्विशतचतुर्थःtwo-hundred-and-fourth

अध्यायःchapter

पूरःcomplete, finished

अभवत्was, became

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

Śrī Mahābhārata

Ādi Parva

Vidurāgamana-rājyalambha Parva

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?

The verse functions as a colophon concluding a chapter centered on Vidura’s counsel, implicitly highlighting the Mahābhārata’s ethical ideal that wise, dharmic advice is essential for stable and righteous governance.

What is happening in the narrative?

No new plot action occurs here; it is a formal closing statement indicating that the 204th chapter—within the Ādi Parva’s Vidura-arrival and kingdom-attainment section, focused on Vidura’s words—has ended.