Shloka 165

Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि आपद्धर्मपर्वणि प्रायद्षित्तीये पज्चषष्ट्यधिकशततमो< ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत आपद्धर्मपर्वमें पापोंके प्रायक्षेत्तकी विधिविषयक एक सौ पैंसठवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi āpaddharmaparvaṇi prāyaścittīye pañcaṣaṣṭyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |

Translation

So endet im Śrī Mahābhārata, innerhalb der Śānti Parva—genauer im Abschnitt Āpaddharma—das hundertfünfundsechzigste Kapitel, das die Verfahren der Sühne (prāyaścitta) für Sünden darlegt. Dieses Schlusskolophon zeigt an, dass Bhīṣmas Unterweisung darüber, wie die Ordnung des Dharma durch vorgeschriebene Bußen, besonders in bedrängten Lagen, wiederhergestellt werden kann, vollendet ist.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the Śrī-Mahābhārata

शान्तिपर्वणिin the Śānti-parvan

आपद्धर्मपर्वणिin the Āpaddharma-parvan (section on duties in distress)

प्रायश्चित्तीयेin the (subsection) concerning expiation

पञ्चषष्ट्यधिकशततमःthe one hundred and sixty-fifth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Śānti Parva

Āpaddharma Parva

Prāyaścitta

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?

The colophon highlights the chapter’s focus: prāyaścitta (expiation) as a dharmic means to address wrongdoing and re-establish moral order, particularly within the broader framework of āpaddharma—ethical decision-making under distress.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is the formal closing statement of the chapter in the Śānti Parva. It marks the completion of a unit of Bhīṣma’s instruction (to Yudhiṣṭhira in context) on expiatory rites and procedures, rather than advancing plot events.