Shloka 48

Āstīka’s Commission and Approach to Janamejaya’s Sarpa-satra (आस्तीक-प्रेषणं यज्ञप्रवेशोपक्रमश्च)

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत आदिपरवके अन्तर्गत आस्तीकपव॑र्में आस्तीककी उत्पत्तिविषयक अड़तालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

Iti prakāraṁ Śrīmahābhārata Ādiparva-ke antargata Āstīkaparva-meṁ Āstīkasya utpatti-viṣayaka aṣṭacatvāriṁśattamaḥ adhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ.

Translation

So endet im Śrī Mahābhārata, im Ādi Parva, im Abschnitt Āstīka, das achtundvierzigste Kapitel, das von Geburt und Ursprung Āstīkas berichtet.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

प्रकारम्manner; way

श्रीrevered; auspiciousness (honorific)

महाभारतम्the Mahabharata

आदिbeginning; first

पर्वणःof the book/section (parvan)

अन्तर्गतःincluded within; contained in

आस्तीकAstika (proper name)

पर्वणिin the parvan/section

आस्तीकस्यof Astika

उत्पत्तिorigin; birth

विषयकःconcerning; relating to

अष्टचत्वारिंशत्तमःforty-eighth

अध्यायःchapter

पूर्णःcompleted; finished

अभवत्was; became

Speaker

तक्षक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrīmahābhārata

Ādi Parva

Āstīka Parva

Āstīka

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

As a colophon-style closing, it underscores disciplined preservation of narrative tradition: chapters are framed as complete units, and the epic’s ethical world treats origins and lineage (utpatti) as meaningful for understanding dharma and rightful identity.

What is happening in the narrative?

This line is not a spoken dialogue but an editorial/narrative closure indicating that the forty-eighth chapter—on Āstīka’s origin—has concluded within the Āstīka Parva of the Ādi Parva.