Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 168
इति श्रीमहा भारते शतसाहरूयां संहितायां वैयासिक्यामनुशासनपर्वणि भीष्मस्वर्गारोहणपर्वणि दानधर्मे भीष्मयुधिष्ठिरसंवादे भीष्ममुक्तिनमाष्टषष्ट्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śatasāhasryāṁ saṁhitāyāṁ vaiyāsikyām anuśāsanaparvaṇi bhīṣmasvargārohaṇaparvaṇi dānadharme bhīṣmayudhiṣṭhirasaṁvāde bhīṣmamuktināmāṣṭaṣaṣṭyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Vaiśampāyana said: Thus, in the holy Mahābhārata—within the one-hundred-thousand-verse compilation composed by Vyāsa—this concludes the Anuśāsana Parva, in the section on Bhīṣma’s ascent to heaven, within the teaching on the dharma of giving, in the dialogue between Bhīṣma and Yudhiṣṭhira: the 168th chapter, entitled “Bhīṣma’s Liberation.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
This verse functions as a colophon marking the close of a teaching unit: Bhīṣma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira on dāna-dharma (the ethics of giving) culminates in the theme of Bhīṣma’s final release. It frames generosity and righteous instruction as part of the larger pursuit of dharma leading toward liberation.
The narrator Vaiśaṃpāyana formally concludes a chapter/section of the Anuśāsana Parva, identifying the textual setting: Vyāsa’s Mahābhārata, the portion describing Bhīṣma’s ascent to heaven, within the Bhīṣma–Yudhiṣṭhira dialogue on the dharma of gifts, specifically the chapter titled “Bhīṣma’s Liberation.”