Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 166

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते अनुशासनपर्वणि दानधर्मपर्वणि भीष्मानुज्ञायां षट्षष्ट्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate anuśāsanaparvaṇi dānadharmaparvaṇi bhīṣmānujñāyāṃ ṣaṭṣaṣṭyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Anuśāsana Parva—specifically in the section on the dharma of gifts and charity—under Bhīṣma’s assent, the one hundred and sixty-sixth chapter comes to its close.

Word by Word

• इति: thus; end-quote marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the Śrī-Mahābhārata
• श्रीमहाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमहाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अनुशासनपर्वणि: in the Anuśāsana-parvan
• अनुशासनपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुशासनपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• दानधर्मपर्वणि: in the section on the dharma of gifts (Dāna-dharma-parvan)
• दानधर्मपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानधर्मपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• भीष्मानुज्ञायाम्: in (the subsection called) Bhīṣmānuज्ञā / Bhīṣma’s permission/assent
• भीष्मानुज्ञायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्मानुज्ञा
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• षट्षष्ट्यधिकशततमः: the one-hundred-and-sixty-sixth
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट्षष्ट्यधिकशततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mahābhārata
• Anuśāsana Parva
• Dāna-dharma (section)
• Bhīṣma
• Vaiśampāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it frames the chapter as part of the Mahābhārata’s Anuśāsana Parva and locates its ethical emphasis in dāna-dharma (the duty and principles of giving), presented under Bhīṣma’s authoritative instruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator (Vaiśampāyana) signals the formal close of the chapter: it identifies the larger book (Anuśāsana Parva), the sub-section (dāna-dharma), and notes the contextual rubric ‘Bhīṣmānujñāyām,’ indicating that the discourse is delivered with Bhīṣma’s assent/authorization as he instructs on dharma.