Shloka 54
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
संवादश्न तत: पर्व द्रौोपदीसत्यभामयो: । घोषयात्रा ततः पर्व मृगस्वप्नोद्भवं तत:,इसके बाद आता है द्रौपदी और सत्यभामाके संवादका पर्व, इसके अनन्तर घोषयात्रापर्व है, उसीमें मृगस्वप्नोद्भव और व्रीहिद्रौीणिक उपाख्यान है। तदनन्तर इन्द्रद्यम्नका आख्यान और उसके बाद द्रौपदीहरणपर्व है। उसीमें जयद्रथविमोक्षणपर्व है
saṃvādaś ca tataḥ parva draupadī-satyabhāmayoḥ | ghoṣayātrā tataḥ parva mṛgasvapnodbhavaṃ tataḥ |
Then comes the section recounting the dialogue between Draupadī and Satyabhāmā. After that follows the Ghoṣayātrā (the cattle-expedition) section, within which the episode arising from the “deer-dream” is narrated. The passage serves as a table-of-contents transition, directing the listener to successive tales that probe marital duty, restraint in adversity, and the ethical tensions that surface in exile and conflict.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily serves as a structural guide, but it implicitly highlights that the epic’s ethical instruction is carried through successive parvas—especially through dialogues (saṃvāda) that model reflection on dharma, conduct in hardship, and the responsibilities within relationships.
The text is enumerating what comes next in the Mahābhārata’s sequence: first a parva featuring the dialogue of Draupadī and Satyabhāmā, then the Ghoṣayātrā parva, and within it an episode described as ‘arising from a deer-dream’ (mṛga-svapna-udbhava).