Shloka 44

Aśvatthāman’s Admonition to Karṇa on Boasting, Varṇa-Duties, and the Threat of Arjuna

Virāṭa-parva, Adhyāya 45

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत विराटप्वके अन्तर्गत गोहदरणपर्वमें उत्तरगोग्रहके अवसरपर अजुनिपरिचयसम्बन्धी चौवालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārate virāṭaparvaṇi antaragate goharaṇaparvaṇi uttaragograhasya avasare arjunaparicaya-sambandhī catuścatvāriṁśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ samāptaḥ

Translation

So endet im Śrī Mahābhārata, innerhalb des Virāṭa Parva, in der als Goharaṇa Parvan (der Viehraub) bekannten Episode, anlässlich der Gefangennahme des nördlichen Viehs, das vierundvierzigste Kapitel—über das Erkennen und Offenbaren von Arjunas Identität.

Word by Word

इतिthus

प्रकारम्manner/way

श्रीमहाभारतेin the Śrī-Mahābhārata

विराटपर्वणिin the Virāṭa-parvan

अन्तर्गतेincluded/contained (within)

गोहरणपर्वणिin the Goharaṇa-parvan (cattle-seizure episode)

उत्तरगोग्रहस्यof Uttara's cow-seizure/cattle-capture (episode)

अवसरेon the occasion

अर्जुनपरिचयसम्बन्धीrelating to the identification of Arjuna

चतुश्चत्वारिंशत्तमःforty-fourth

अध्यायःchapter

समाप्तःcompleted/ended

अभवत्was/became

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahabharata

Virata Parva

Goharana Parvan

Arjuna

Uttara (implied by 'uttaragograha')

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?

As a concluding colophon, the verse highlights a key ethical motif of the Virāṭa narrative: disciplined concealment in service of dharma, followed by timely revelation and decisive action when righteousness demands it.

What is happening in the narrative?

This line marks the end of a chapter in the Virāṭa Parva, specifically within the Goharaṇa (cattle-raid) episode, at the moment connected with the northern cattle’s capture and the recognition/introduction of Arjuna.