Shloka 197
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
काम्यके काननश्रेष्ठे पुनर्गमनमुच्यते । व्रीहिद्रोणिकमाख्यानमत्रैव बहुविस्तरम्,इसके पश्चात् पाण्डवगण काम्यक नामक श्रेष्ठ वनमें फिरसे गये। इसी प्रसंगमें अत्यन्त विस्तारके साथ व्रीहिद्रौणिक उपाख्यान भी कहा गया है
kāmyake kānanaśreṣṭhe punargamanam ucyate | vrīhidroṇikam ākhyānam atraiva bahuvistaram ||
Here it is related how they returned again to the excellent forest of Kāmyaka; and in this very context the extensive episode known as the Vrīhidroṇika narrative is also recounted in detail.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions mainly as a narrative signpost: it highlights how the epic embeds moral and cultural instruction through subsidiary tales (upākhyānas) placed within the main storyline, indicating that ethical reflection often comes through contextual storytelling.
The text announces that the account will describe a return to the excellent Kāmyaka forest, and that, in the same connection, the Vrīhidroṇika episode will be narrated at length.