Shloka 139
Śaraṇāgatapālana—Prastāvanā
Protection of the Refuge-Seeker: Opening of the Kapota Narrative
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत आपद्धर्मपर्वमें ब्रह्मदत्त और पूजनीका संवादविषयक एकसौ उनतालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraḥ śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvake antargata āpaddharmaparvaṇi brahmadatta-pūjanikā-saṃvāda-viṣayaka ekaśata-unatāliśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the one hundred and thirty-ninth chapter of the Āpaddharma section within the Śānti Parva of the sacred Mahābhārata, dealing with the dialogue between Brahmadatta and Pūjanikā. Here the narrative closes this unit, completing a teaching episode on conduct in times of distress and moral uncertainty.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line functions as a colophon: it signals the completion of a chapter whose subject is the Brahmadatta–Pūjanikā dialogue within Āpaddharma, framing the teaching as guidance on righteous conduct under crisis conditions.
Bhīṣma’s discourse reaches a formal close for this chapter; the text announces that the chapter on the Brahmadatta and Pūjanikā conversation in the Āpaddharma portion of Śānti Parva has ended.