Shloka 141
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि आपद्धर्मपर्वणि विश्वामित्रश्नपचसंवादे एकचत्वारिंशदधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi āpaddharmaparvaṇi viśvāmitra-śvapaca-saṃvāde ekacatvāriṃśad-adhika-śatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus ends, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Śānti Parva—specifically the section on dharma in times of distress (Āpaddharma)—the dialogue between Viśvāmitra and the outcaste (śvapaca): the one hundred and forty-first chapter. This closing colophon frames the foregoing teaching as guidance for dharma under extreme necessity, where moral judgment must heed circumstance and survival without forsaking the spirit of righteousness.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a chapter-ending colophon, the verse signals that the preceding material belongs to Āpaddharma—ethical reasoning under crisis—implying that dharma must be applied with sensitivity to necessity, context, and the preservation of life, while still aiming to uphold righteousness.
Bhīṣma concludes a unit of instruction by marking the end of the chapter: it is situated in the Śānti Parva, within the Āpaddharma section, and specifically identifies the just-finished dialogue between the sage Viśvāmitra and a śvapaca (outcaste interlocutor).