Shloka 154

Tapas as the Root of Attainment (तपः—साधनमूलप्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि आपद्धर्मपर्वणि पवनशाल्मलिसंवादे चतुष्पड्चाशदधिकशततमो<्ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi āpaddharmaparvaṇi pavanāśālmalisaṃvāde catuṣpaṇcāśad-adhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

So endet im Śrī Mahābhārata, innerhalb des Śānti Parvan—genauer im Āpaddharma Parvan—der Dialog zwischen Pavana (dem Wind) und dem Śālmalī-Baum und bildet das hundertvierundfünfzigste Kapitel.

Word by Word

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

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the revered Mahābhārata
• श्रीमहाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमहाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शान्तिपर्वणि: in the Śānti-parvan
• शान्तिपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शान्तिपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• आपद्धर्मपर्वणि: in the Āpaddharma-parvan (section on duties in distress)
• आपद्धर्मपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आपद्धर्मपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• पवनशाल्मलिसंवादे: in the dialogue of Pavana and Śālmali
• पवनशाल्मलिसंवादे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पवनशाल्मलिसंवाद
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• चतुष्पञ्चाशत्: fifty-four
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुष्पञ्चाशत्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अधिक: in excess; plus
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिक
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• शततमः: hundredth
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Śānti Parvan
• Āpaddharma Parvan
• Pavana (Wind)
• Śālmalī (silk-cotton tree)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This verse is a colophon rather than a teaching verse: it marks the completion of a dharma-in-distress (āpaddharma) discussion framed as a dialogue between Pavana and the Śālmalī tree, emphasizing that ethical instruction is being delivered through a narrative conversation.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text formally closes the Pavana–Śālmalī dialogue within the Āpaddharma portion of the Śānti Parvan and identifies the chapter count, functioning as an editorial/narrative boundary rather than advancing the story events.