Shloka 71
Aśvamedha-dīkṣā, Vyāsa’s horse-release, and Arjuna’s departure with Gāṇḍīva (आश्वमेधिक-दीक्षा तथा हय-उत्सर्गः)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत आश्वमेधिकपर्वके अन्तर्गत अनुगीतापर्वमें श्रीकृष्ण और व्यासकी युधिष्ठिरको यज्ञ करनेके लिये आज्ञाविषयक इकह्ठत्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṃ śrīmahābhārate āśvamedhika-parvaṇi antargate anugītā-parvaṇi śrīkṛṣṇa-vyāsayoḥ yudhiṣṭhiraṃ yajñaṃ kartuṃ ājñā-viṣayaka ekasaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the seventy-first chapter of the Anugītā section within the Aśvamedhika Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, in which Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Vyāsa instruct Yudhiṣṭhira with an authoritative injunction to undertake a sacrificial rite. The closing formula marks the passage from counsel to action, emphasizing the king’s ethical duty to restore order through duly sanctioned ritual.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
That royal action should proceed under dharmic authority: Yudhiṣṭhira is directed by Kṛṣṇa and Vyāsa to undertake yajña, presenting sacrifice as a sanctioned means to re-establish order, legitimacy, and ethical governance after upheaval.
This is a concluding colophon marking the end of the seventy-first chapter of the Anugītā section within the Āśvamedhika Parva, summarizing that Kṛṣṇa and Vyāsa have issued an injunction to Yudhiṣṭhira to perform a yajña.