Shloka 51
Kurukṣetra–Samantapañcaka Māhātmya: King Kuru’s Ploughing and Indra’s Boon (प्रजापतेरुत्तरवेदिः समन्तपञ्चकं)
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत शल्यपर्वके अन्तर्गत गदापव॑नें बलदेवजीकी तीर्थयात्राके प्रसंगमें सारस्वतोपाख्यानविषयक इक्यावनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Iti prakāraṁ Śrīmahābhārata-Śalya-parvake antargata gadāparvaṇe Baladevajī-kī tīrthayātrā-ke prasaṅgame Sārasvatopākhyāna-viṣayaka ikyāvanvāṁ adhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ huā.
Thus ends the fifty-first chapter on the Sārasvata episode, occurring within the Śalya Parva—specifically in the section concerning the mace—set in the context of Baladeva’s pilgrimage. The closing formula marks the completion of this narrative unit, framing the episode within a broader ethical and ritual landscape in which pilgrimage and sacred lore stand alongside the violence of war as complementary means of sustaining dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse primarily teaches how the epic frames dharma through multiple complementary paths: even amid war narratives, pilgrimage (tīrthayātrā) and sacred sub-tales (upākhyāna) are presented as sustaining moral and ritual order, reminding the listener that dharma is upheld not only by battle but also by sanctifying practices and remembered tradition.
Vaiśampāyana signals the completion of the fifty-first chapter focused on the Sārasvata episode, situated within Śalya Parva and connected to the broader context of Baladeva’s pilgrimage and the mace-related section of the narrative.