Shloka 116

Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving

Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्या भारत अनुशासनपरव्वके अन्तर्गत दानधर्म पर्वमें अहिंसाके फलका वर्णनविषयक एक सौ सोलहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārate anuśāsana-parvaṇi antargate dāna-dharma-parvaṇi ahiṁsāyāḥ phala-varṇana-viṣayaka eka-śata-ṣoḍaśatamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ

Translation

So endet im heiligen Mahābhārata, innerhalb des Anuśāsana Parva, im Abschnitt über das Dharma des Gebens, das hundertsechzehnte Kapitel, das den Früchten der Gewaltlosigkeit (ahiṃsā) gewidmet ist.

Word by Word

एवम्thus

प्रकारेणin this manner/way

श्रीमहा-भारतेin the great glorious Mahabharata

अनुशासन-पर्वणिin the Anushasana Parva

अन्तर्गतincluded/contained

दान-धर्म-पर्वणिin the section on the dharma of giving

अहिंसा-फल-वर्णन-विषयकःconcerning the description of the fruit of non-violence

एक-शत-षोडशःone hundred and sixteenth

अध्यायःchapter

समाप्तःcompleted/ended

अभवत्was/became

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Anuśāsana Parva

Dāna-dharma (section)

Ahiṁsā

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This closing colophon highlights the chapter’s ethical focus: the fruits (phala) of ahiṁsā—non-violence—as a central dharmic virtue, presented within the broader instruction on righteous conduct and charitable duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Rather than advancing the story, this line functions as a formal end-of-chapter marker, stating that the 116th chapter—on describing the results of non-violence—has concluded within the Anuśāsana Parva’s Dana-dharma section.