Shloka 412

Vasiṣṭhāpavāha: Sarasvatī’s Diversion and Viśvāmitra’s Curse (वसिष्ठापवाहः)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शल्यपर्वणि गदापर्वणि बलदेवतीर्थयात्रायां सारस्वतोपाख्याने एकचत्वारिंशो5ध्याय

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śalyaparvaṇi gadāparvaṇi baladevatīrthayātrāyāṃ sārasvatopākhyāne ekacatvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

So endet das einundvierzigste Kapitel im Śalya-Parva des Śrī Mahābhārata—innerhalb des Gadāparvan (des Abschnitts über die Keule), im Bericht von Baladevas Pilgerfahrt zu den heiligen Furten, insbesondere in der Episode, die als Sārasvata-Erzählung bekannt ist. Dieses Kolophon kennzeichnet den Abschluss einer Einheit von Lehre und Erinnerung: Es rahmt die vorangehende Darstellung als Teil einer größeren ethischen und rituellen Landschaft, in der Pilgerschaft, heilige Geographie und exemplarische Geschichten dazu dienen, das moralische Gewicht des Krieges und seiner Nachwirkungen zu deuten.

Word by Word

• इति: thus; end-quote marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the holy Mahabharata
• श्रीमहाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमहाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शल्यपर्वणि: in the Shalya Parva
• शल्यपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शल्यपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• गदापर्वणि: in the Gada Parva
• गदापर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदापर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• बलदेवतीर्थयात्रायाम्: in (the section on) Baladeva's pilgrimage to sacred fords
• बलदेवतीर्थयात्रायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलदेवतीर्थयात्रा
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• सारस्वतोपाख्याने: in the Sarasvata episode
• सारस्वतोपाख्याने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सारस्वत-उपाख्यान
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• एकचत्वारिंशः: forty-first
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकचत्वारिंशत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Śalya Parva
• Gadā Parvan
• Baladeva (Balarāma)
• Tīrthayātrā (pilgrimage)
• Sārasvata Upākhyāna

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

As a colophon, the verse does not add new doctrinal content; its teaching is structural and interpretive: it situates the preceding material within a sacred and ethical frame—linking the war narrative to tīrtha-traditions and exemplary sub-stories (upākhyānas) that guide reflection on dharma, consequence, and purification.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narration reaches a formal stopping point: the text announces the completion of the forty-first chapter of the Śalya Parva, specifically within the Gadā-related section and Baladeva’s pilgrimage account, concluding the Sārasvata episode.