Shloka 117
Bhṛtya-niyoga: Role-appropriate appointment of servants and protection of the royal treasury (भृत्यनियोगः कोशरक्षणं च)
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वनें कुत्ता तथा ऋषिका संवादविषयक एक सौ सत्रहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṃ śrīmahābhārata-śāntiparva-ke antargata rājadharmānuśāsana-parva-ne kuttā tathā ṛṣikā-saṃvāda-viṣayaka eka-śata-saptadaśa-adhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the one hundred and seventeenth chapter of the Śānti Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the section on the instruction of royal duties, dealing with the dialogue between a dog and a female ascetic. This closing colophon signals the completion of that ethical narrative unit within Bhīṣma’s discourse on righteous kingship.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a chapter-ending colophon, the line itself does not teach a new doctrine; it frames the preceding material as part of Bhīṣma’s instruction on rājadharma (righteous kingship), highlighting that the completed unit was an ethical dialogue (dog and female ascetic) used to illuminate principles of conduct and justice.
This is the formal closing statement marking the completion of the 117th chapter within the Śānti Parva’s rājadharma instruction section, specifying that the chapter’s subject was the dialogue between a dog and a female ascetic.