Shloka 43
इत्युक्त: स सरस्वत्या: कुञ्जे वै जनमेजय,इति श्रीमहाभारते शल्यपर्वणि गदापर्वणि बलदेवतीर्थयात्रायां सारस्वतोपाख्याने त्रिचत्वारिंशोध्याय:
ity uktaḥ sa sarasvatyāḥ kuñje vai janamejaya | iti śrīmahābhārate śalyaparvaṇi gadāparvaṇi baladevatīrthayātrāyāṃ sārasvatopākhyāne tricatuvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, having spoken thus, he remained in the grove of the river Sarasvatī.” Thus ends the forty-third chapter in the Śalya Parvan of the Śrī Mahābhārata, in the section on the mace-fight, within Baladeva’s pilgrimage to sacred fords, in the episode concerning Sārasvata. The closing formula frames the narrative as remembered sacred history, emphasizing the ethical value of tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) and disciplined withdrawal from violence even amid the war’s aftermath.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a chapter-colophon, the verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s ethical framing: even within a war narrative, sacred travel (tīrtha-yātrā), remembrance of holy places like Sarasvatī, and disciplined withdrawal from conflict are presented as meaningful paths of purification and reflection.
Vaiśampāyana addresses King Janamejaya and closes the chapter by stating that, after speaking, the person in question remained in the grove by the Sarasvatī. The remainder is the formal colophon identifying the work (Mahābhārata), the parvan (Śalya), the sub-section (Gadā), and the embedded episode (Baladeva’s pilgrimage; Sārasvata narrative).