Shloka 137
आपद्धर्मे राज्ञः नीतिः — Bharadvāja’s Counsel on Crisis-Statecraft (Śānti Parva 138)
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि आपद्धर्मपर्वणि शाकुलोपाख्याने सप्तत्रिंशदधिकशततमो< ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत आपद्धर्मपर्वमें शाकुलोपाख्यानविषयक एक सौ सैतीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi āpaddharmaparvaṇi śākulopākhyāne saptatriṃśad-adhika-śatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Śānti Parva—specifically the section on dharma in times of distress (Āpaddharma Parva)—the narrative episode known as the Śākula-upākhyāna concludes here, marking the completion of the 137th chapter. The colophon signals a transition point: the teaching on ethical conduct under crisis conditions has reached a formal close for this chapter.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it frames the teaching context by locating the discussion within Āpaddharma—ethical decision-making under distress—signaling that the chapter’s instruction and illustrative tale (Śākula-upākhyāna) has formally concluded.
The text is closing the chapter: it announces that, within the Śānti Parva’s Āpaddharma section, the Śākula episode has reached the end of the 137th chapter, preparing the reader for the next chapter’s continuation or shift in topic.