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Shloka 253

Dharma-Pramāṇa-Vicāra: The Elusiveness of Dharma and the Limits of Rule-Lists

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि शुकानुप्रश्ने त्रिपज्चाशदधिकद्धिशततमो< ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi śukānupraśne tripañcāśad-adhika-dviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

So endet das zweihundertzweiundfünfzigste Kapitel im Mokṣadharma-Abschnitt des Śānti Parva des Śrī Mahābhārata, im Zusammenhang mit Śukas Anfrage. Dieses Kolophon kennzeichnet den Abschluss einer Unterweisung, die auf Befreiung und rechtes Verstehen ausgerichtet ist.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the venerable Mahabharata

शान्तिपर्वणिin the Shanti Parva

मोक्षधर्मपर्वणिin the Mokshadharma section

शुकानुप्रश्नेin (the topic of) Shuka's follow-up questions

त्रिपञ्चाशत्fifty-three

अधिकadditional; over and above

द्विशततमःtwo-hundredth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Śānti Parva

Mokṣadharma Parva

Śuka

Vyāsa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse; it signals that the preceding discussion belongs to the Mokṣadharma (teachings on liberation) within Śānti Parva, framed by Śuka’s inquiry—emphasizing the text’s ethical-philosophical orientation toward mokṣa.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator marks the formal close of a chapter: within the Śānti Parva’s Mokṣadharma section, the discourse connected with Śuka’s questions concludes here, and the text transitions to the next chapter.