Shloka 156

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि आपद्धर्मपर्वणि पवनशाल्मलिसंवादे षट्पज्चाशदधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi āpaddharmaparvaṇi pavanāśālmalisaṃvāde ṣaṭpañcāśadadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Śānti Parva—specifically the section on dharma in times of distress (Āpaddharma Parva)—in the dialogue between Pavana (the Wind) and the Śālmalī tree, ends the one-hundred-and-fifty-sixth chapter. This is a concluding colophon marking the close of the chapter and situating its ethical discussion within the broader teaching of conduct under adversity.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the revered Mahābhārata

शान्तिपर्वणिin the Śānti-parvan

आपद्धर्मपर्वणिin the Āpaddharma-parvan (section on duties in distress)

पवनशाल्मलिसंवादेin the dialogue of Pavana and Śālmalī

षट्पञ्चाशदधिकशततमःthe one-hundred-and-fifty-sixth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Śānti Parva

Āpaddharma Parva

Pavana (Vāyu/Wind)

Śālmalī tree

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it frames the teaching as part of Āpaddharma—ethical reasoning for situations of crisis—delivered through the Pavana–Śālmalī dialogue, emphasizing that the chapter’s instruction belongs to the Mahābhārata’s broader program of dharma-guidance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma’s discourse reaches a chapter boundary: the text formally closes the chapter by naming the larger book (Mahābhārata), the parva (Śānti), the sub-parva (Āpaddharma), and the embedded dialogue (Pavana and the Śālmalī tree), and by stating the chapter number.