Shloka 188

अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः

The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वमें एक सौ अद्ठासीवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

Iti prakāraḥ Śrīmahābhārate Vanaparvaṇi antargate Mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvaṇi ekaśatāṣṭāśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ samāptaḥ.

Translation

So endet im Śrī Mahābhārata, innerhalb des Vana Parva, das hundertachtundachtzigste Kapitel des Abschnitts der Markandeya-Zusammenfassung.

Word by Word

इतिthus

प्रकारम्manner, way

श्रीglory; honorific 'Śrī'

महाभारतthe Mahābhārata

वनपर्वin the Vana-parvan (Forest Book)

अन्तर्गतincluded within

मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वin the Mārkaṇḍeya-samāsyā-parvan (section)

एकone

शतhundred

अष्टाशीeighty-eight

अध्यायchapter

पूरःcomplete

अभवत्was; became

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Vana Parva

Mārkaṇḍeya (sage)

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 is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it teaches how the epic is organized and transmitted—marking the completion of a chapter and signaling continuity of narration through formal closures.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator (Vaiśampāyana) is not advancing the plot here; instead, the text announces that a chapter within the Vana Parva—specifically within the Markandeya-summary subsection—has concluded, preparing the reader for the next chapter.