Shloka 116
Adhyāya 118: Saciva-parīkṣā
Testing and Appointment of Ministers/Servants
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वमें कुत्ता और ऋषिका संवादविषयक एक सौ योलहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṃ śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi antargate rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi kukkura-ṛṣikā-saṃvāda-viṣayaka ekaśataṣoḍaśottara-adhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the one-hundred-and-sixteenth chapter (116) of the Śānti Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the section on the instruction of royal duties (Rājadharmānuśāsana), dealing with the dialogue between a dog and a female ascetic. This closing formula marks the completion of that ethical narrative unit, framed as guidance on righteous governance and conduct.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon marking the end of a chapter; it frames the preceding dog–female-ascetic dialogue as part of Bhīṣma’s instruction on rājadharma, implying that ethical discernment and righteous conduct are to be learned even through illustrative conversations and exempla.
The narrative portion has concluded: the text formally announces that the chapter concerning the dialogue between a dog and a female ascetic—embedded within the Śānti Parva’s royal-duties instruction—has been completed.