Adhyāya 122 — Śruta-vṛtta-yukta Brāhmaṇa and the Ethics of Dāna
Maitreya–Vyāsa Saṃvāda
इति श्रीमहाभारते अनुशासनपर्वणि दानधर्मपर्वणि कीटोपाख्याने अष्टादशाधिकशततमो< ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत अनुशासनपर्वके अन्तर्गत दानधर्मपर्वमें कीड़ेका उपाख्यानविषयक एक सौ अठारहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti śrīmahābhārate anuśāsanaparvaṇi dānadharmaparvaṇi kīṭopākhyāne aṣṭādaśādhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Anuśāsana Parva—specifically in the section on the dharma of giving (dāna-dharma)—the episode known as the “Tale of the Worm/Insect” concludes here, marking the completion of the one-hundred-and-eighteenth chapter. The colophon signals the close of a teaching unit centered on the ethical and religious value of generosity.
व्यास उवाच
This verse is a colophon rather than a doctrinal statement: it marks the completion of a chapter within the dāna-dharma (ethics of giving) material. Its function is to frame the preceding narrative as an ethical instruction on generosity and merit.
The narrator (Vyāsa) closes the unit by formally announcing that the Kīṭopākhyāna episode has concluded and that the 118th chapter of this section is complete.