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Shloka 256

Jājali–Tulādhāra-saṃvāda: Yajña, Vṛtti, and Ātma-tīrtha (जाजलि-तुलाधार-संवादः)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहा भारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि मृत्युप्रजापतिसंवादोपक्रमे षट्पञ्चाशदधिकद्विशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi mṛtyuprajāpati-saṃvāda-upakramae ṣaṭpañcāśad-adhika-dviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

So beginnt im ehrwürdigen Mahābhārata, innerhalb des Śānti Parva—genauer im Abschnitt Mokṣadharma—der einleitende Teil des Dialogs zwischen Mṛtyu (dem Tod) und Prajāpati. Hier endet das zweihundertsechsundfünfzigste Kapitel (256. adhyāya).

Word by Word

इतिthus; so (end-quote marker)

श्रीauspiciousness; venerable (honorific)

महाin the great (work)

भारतेin the Mahabharata

शान्तिपर्वणिin the Shanti-parvan

मोक्षधर्मपर्वणिin the Moksha-dharma section

मृत्युप्रजापतिसंवादोपक्रमेin the commencement of the dialogue of Mrityu and Prajapati

षट्पञ्चाशत्fifty-six

अधिकadditional; over and above

द्विशततमःtwo-hundredth (i.e., 200th)

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Śānti Parva

Mokṣadharma Parva

Mṛtyu

Prajāpati

Nārada

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line functions as a colophon and thematic signpost: it frames the surrounding teaching as part of Mokṣadharma (the dharma of liberation) and signals that the discourse is anchored in a dialogue between Death (Mṛtyu) and the progenitor Prajāpati—implying reflection on mortality, cosmic order, and the path beyond fear and attachment.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text marks a structural transition: within Śānti Parva’s Mokṣadharma section, the introductory setup for the Mṛtyu–Prajāpati dialogue is indicated, and the chapter count is stated—serving as the formal close/heading marker in the manuscript tradition.