Shloka 25
कुन्तीनिवर्तनप्रयत्नः तथा वननिवासप्रारम्भः
Attempt to Dissuade Kuntī; Commencement of Forest Residence
इति श्रीमहाभारते आश्रमवासिके पर्वणि आश्रमवासपर्वणि ऋषीन प्रति युधिष्ठिरादिकथने पड्चविंशो5ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate āśramavāsike parvaṇi āśramavāsaparvaṇi ṛṣīn prati yudhiṣṭhirādikathane pañcaviṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Āśramavāsika Parva—specifically the section on dwelling in the forest hermitage—ends the twenty-fifth chapter, which recounts Yudhiṣṭhira and the others addressing the sages. This closing colophon frames the episode as a morally charged dialogue in which royal duty and renunciation are weighed before spiritual authorities.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not add new doctrine but signals that the chapter’s ethical focus is a royal party (Yudhiṣṭhira and others) engaging sages—implying that dharma is clarified and validated through consultation with spiritual authorities, especially in matters of renunciation and right conduct after worldly power.
The verse marks the formal close of the chapter: it identifies the work (Mahābhārata), the parva (Āśramavāsika), and the chapter’s subject—Yudhiṣṭhira and others speaking to the sages—functioning as an editorial/narrative boundary rather than a plot event.