Baka Dālbhya at Avakīrṇa-tīrtha: Rāṣṭra-kṣaya and Release through Prasāda (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 40)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्या भारत शल्यपव्वके अन्तर्गत गदापबव॑नें बलदेवजीकी तीर्थयात्राके प्रसंगमें सारस्वतोपाख्यानविषयक उनतालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Iti prakāraṁ Śrīmahābhārata-Śalyaparvaṇi antar-gata-gadāparvaṇi Baladevajī-kī tīrthayātrā-prasaṅge Sārasvatopākhyāna-viṣayakaḥ ekonacatvāriṁśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ.
So endet das neununddreißigste Kapitel der Sārasvata-Episode, die im Zusammenhang mit Baladevas Pilgerfahrt innerhalb des Gadā-Abschnitts der Śalya-Parva des heiligen Mahābhārata erzählt wird. Die Erzählung setzt hier einen feierlichen Schlusspunkt unter diese Einheit von Lehre und Geschichte und verortet sie im weiteren ethischen Rahmen von Pflicht, Selbstzucht und den Folgen des Handelns im Nachhall des Krieges.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
This line functions as a colophon: it emphasizes textual structure and context—placing the Sārasvata episode within Baladeva’s pilgrimage and the mace-related section of Śalya Parva—reminding readers that ethical reflection (dharma, restraint, consequence) is embedded within a carefully framed narrative.
The narrator signals the completion of the thirty-ninth chapter dealing with the Sārasvata sub-story, told in connection with Baladeva’s tīrtha-yātrā, and notes its placement within the Gadā section of the Śalya Parva.