Shloka 55
Janamejaya’s Request for Expansion; Vaiśampāyana’s Authorization and Phalāśruti of the Mahābhārata
Jaya
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत आदिपरववके अन्तर्गत आस्तीकपवर्में आस्तीकद्वारा सर्पसत्रमें राजा जनमेजयकी स्वुतिविषयक पचपनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Iti prakāraṃ Śrīmahābhārata-Ādiparvaṇi antar-gata Āstīkaparvaṇi Āstīkena sarpasatre rājā Janamejayasya stuti-viṣayakaḥ pañcapañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ.
So endet das fünfundfünfzigste Kapitel des Āstīka-Abschnitts innerhalb der Ādi-Parva des ehrwürdigen Śrī Mahābhārata, das den Lobpreis König Janamejayas beim Schlangenopfer schildert, wie ihn Āstīka vortrug. Die Schlussformel betont den ethischen Rahmen der Begebenheit: rechte Rede und Ehrfurcht erscheinen als Kräfte, die zerstörerische rituelle Gewalt zu zügeln und das dharmische Gleichgewicht wiederherzustellen vermögen.
आस्तीक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even within powerful rituals and royal authority, dharma is upheld through disciplined speech, reverence, and the capacity to restrain harm; the chapter’s colophon highlights stuti (praise) as a moral instrument that can redirect destructive intent toward righteous order.
This is a concluding colophon stating that the fifty-fifth chapter—centered on Āstīka’s praise of King Janamejaya during the serpent-sacrifice—has ended, marking the closure of that unit within the Āstīka episode of the Ādi Parva.