इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत आदिपरवके अन्तर्गत आस्तीकपव॑र्में आस्तीककी उत्पत्तिविषयक अड़तालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Iti prakāraṁ Śrīmahābhārata Ādiparva-ke antargata Āstīkaparva-meṁ Āstīkasya utpatti-viṣayaka aṣṭacatvāriṁśattamaḥ adhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ.
Thus ends the forty-eighth chapter of the Āstīka section within the Ādi Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, describing the birth and origin of Āstīka.
तक्षक उवाच
As a colophon-style closing, it underscores disciplined preservation of narrative tradition: chapters are framed as complete units, and the epic’s ethical world treats origins and lineage (utpatti) as meaningful for understanding dharma and rightful identity.
This line is not a spoken dialogue but an editorial/narrative closure indicating that the forty-eighth chapter—on Āstīka’s origin—has concluded within the Āstīka Parva of the Ādi Parva.