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Shloka 159

Khaḍgotpattiḥ (Origin and Dharmic Function of the Sword) | खड्गोत्पत्तिः

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहा भारते शान्तिपर्वणि आपद्धर्मपर्वणि अज्ञानमाहात्म्ये एकोनषष्ट्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi āpaddharmaparvaṇi ajñānamāhātmye ekonaṣaṣṭyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Śānti Parva—specifically the section on conduct in times of distress (Āpaddharma)—ends the one-hundred-and-fifty-ninth chapter, themed on the “greatness (or significance) of ignorance.” This is the customary colophon marking the close of the chapter in Bhīṣma’s discourse on dharma.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीauspiciousness; venerable (honorific)

महाgreat (as part of the title)

भारतेin the Mahābhārata

शान्तिपर्वणिin the Śānti-parvan

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

अज्ञानमाहात्म्येin the (subsection) ‘Greatness of Ignorance’

एकोनषष्ट्यधिकशततमःthe one-hundred-and-fifty-ninth (chapter)

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Śānti Parva

Āpaddharma (Āpaddharma-parva)

Ajñānamāhātmya (topic/title)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a teaching verse: it signals the end of a chapter in Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma, locating it within Śānti Parva and the Āpaddharma section, and naming the chapter’s theme as ‘Ajñānamāhātmya’ (the significance of ignorance).

What is happening in the narrative?

The text is closing a chapter of Bhīṣma’s extended counsel (in Śānti Parva) by formally stating the work (Mahābhārata), the parva (Śānti), the sub-section (Āpaddharma), the chapter theme (Ajñānamāhātmya), and the chapter number (159).