Shloka 258

अहिंसा-प्रधान धर्मविचारः

Ahiṃsā as the Superior Dharma: Practical and Scriptural Reasoning

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहा भारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि मृत्युप्रजापतिसंवादे अष्टपञ्चाशदधिकद्वधिशततमो< ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi mṛtyuprajāpati-saṃvāde aṣṭapañcāśad-adhika-dviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ | isa prakāra śrīmahābhārata śāntiparva ke antargata mokṣadharmaparva meṃ mṛtyu aura prajāpati kā saṃvāda-viṣayaka do sau aṭṭhāīsvāṃ adhyāya pūrā huā |

Translation

So endet im «Śrī Mahābhārata», innerhalb des «Śānti Parva»—insbesondere im Abschnitt «Mokṣa-dharma»—hier der Dialog zwischen Mṛtyu (dem Tod) und Prajāpati. Damit schließt das zweihundertachtundfünfzigste Kapitel, das die Unterredung zwischen dem Tod und dem Herrn der Geschöpfe zum Mittelpunkt hat.

Word by Word

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

• श्री: auspiciousness; venerable (honorific)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• महाभारते: in the Mahābhārata
• महाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

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

• मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि: in the Mokṣa-dharma section
• मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्षधर्मपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• मृत्युप्रजापतिसंवादे: in the dialogue of Mṛtyu and Prajāpati
• मृत्युप्रजापतिसंवादे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु-प्रजापति-संवाद
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• अष्टपञ्चाशत्: fifty-eight
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टपञ्चाशत्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• अधिक: additional; exceeding
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिक
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• द्विशततमः: two-hundredth
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्विशततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mṛtyu
• Prajāpati
• Mahābhārata
• Śānti Parva
• Mokṣa-dharma Parva

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This is a colophon marking the completion of a didactic chapter: it frames the teaching as part of Mokṣa-dharma, where reflection on Death (mṛtyu) and cosmic progenitorship (prajāpati) supports ethical clarity and detachment, orienting the listener toward liberation-focused dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text signals that the dialogue between Mṛtyu and Prajāpati has concluded and formally closes the 258th chapter of the Mokṣa-dharma section within the Śānti Parva.