Shloka 37
Vipulopākhyāna—Ruci-rakṣā and Śakra’s Māyā (विपुलोपाख्यानम्—रुचिरक्षणं शक्रमाया च)
इति श्रीमहाभारते अनुशासनपर्वणि दानधर्मपर्वणि पात्रपरीक्षायां सप्तत्रिंशो ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत अनुशासनपर्वके अन्तर्गत दानधर्मपर्वमें पात्रकी परीक्षाविषयक सैंतीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti śrīmahābhārate anuśāsanaparvaṇi dānadharmaparvaṇi pātraparīkṣāyāṃ saptatriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Anuśāsana Parvan—specifically in the section on the dharma of giving—ends the thirty-seventh chapter concerning the examination of a worthy recipient. This colophon marks the completion of the unit, affirming that charity bears true ethical fruit when bestowed upon one who is genuinely deserving.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The colophon highlights the ethical principle that giving (dāna) is not merely an act of generosity but a dharmic practice whose value depends greatly on the worthiness (pātratā) of the recipient; hence the need for ‘pātraparīkṣā’, careful discernment in charity.
This line is a concluding colophon stating that a chapter has ended: within the Anuśāsana Parvan’s discourse on the dharma of giving, the unit dealing with ‘examining the recipient’ is completed (the thirty-seventh chapter of that thematic sequence).