Shloka 136

Adhyāya 142: Cyavana, the Devas’ Arrogance, and Vāyu’s Counsel on Protecting Brāhmaṇas

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत अनुशासनपर्वके अन्तर्गत दानधर्मपर्वमें प्रायक्षित्तविधि नामक एक सौ छत्तीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti prakāreṇa śrīmahābhārate anuśāsanaparvaṇi antargate dānadharmaparvaṇi prāyaścittavidhi-nāmakaḥ ekaśata-ṣaṭtriṃśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ

Translation

So endet das hundertsechsunddreißigste Kapitel mit dem Titel „Das Verfahren der Sühne (prāyaścitta)“ innerhalb des Abschnitts über das Dharma des Schenkens (dāna-dharma) in der Anuśāsana Parva des heiligen Mahābhārata. Die Schlussformel zeigt an, dass Bhīṣmas Unterweisung darüber, wie Fehlverhalten durch vorgeschriebene Akte der Buße und Reinigung ethisch zu behandeln ist, abgeschlossen ist.

Word by Word

इतिthus

प्रकारम्manner/way

श्रीglory/auspiciousness; honorific

महाभारतम्the Mahabharata

अनुशासनपर्वणःof the Anushasana Parva

अन्तर्गतincluded/contained within

दानधर्मपर्वणिin the Dānadharma-parva (section on the duty of giving)

प्रायश्चित्तविधिthe procedure of expiation

नामकःnamed/called

एकone

शतhundred

षट्six

त्रिंशत्thirty

अध्यायःchapter

सम्पूर्णःcompleted/finished

अभवत्was/became

Speaker

भीष्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Anuśāsana Parva

Dāna-dharma Parva

Prāyaścitta-vidhi (chapter title/theme)

Bhīṣma

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?

This verse functions as a colophon marking the end of a chapter on prāyaścitta (expiation). The ethical thrust is that wrongdoing is not ignored: it is addressed through recognized procedures of atonement and purification, situated within Bhīṣma’s broader instruction on dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma’s discourse reaches a formal stopping point: the text announces that the chapter titled “Prāyaścitta-vidhi” has been completed within the Dāna-dharma section of the Anuśāsana Parva.