Shloka 176

Adhyāya 177: Pañca-mahābhūta-vicāra and Vṛkṣa-jīva-lakṣaṇa

Five Elements Inquiry and the Status of Plant Life

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि शम्पाकगीतायां षट्सप्तत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi śampākagītāyāṃ ṣaṭsaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus, in the revered Mahābhārata, within the Śānti Parva—specifically the Mokṣa-dharma section—ends the Śampāka-gītā, being the one-hundred-and-seventy-seventh chapter. This is the concluding colophon marking the close of a teaching on liberation-oriented dharma within Bhīṣma’s instruction.

Word by Word

• इति: thus; end-quote marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the revered Mahabharata
• श्रीमहाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमहाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शान्तिपर्वणि: in the Shanti Parva
• शान्तिपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शान्तिपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि: in the Moksha-dharma section
• मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्षधर्मपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शम्पाकगीतायाम्: in the Shampaka-gita
• शम्पाकगीतायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्पाकगीता
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• षट्सप्तत्यधिकशततमः: the one hundred seventy-sixth
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट्सप्तत्यधिकशततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrīmahābhārata
• Śānti Parva
• Mokṣa-dharma Parva
• Śampāka-gītā
• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it signals the completion of the Śampāka-gītā within the Mokṣa-dharma portion of Śānti Parva, framing the preceding material as instruction oriented toward liberation (mokṣa) and higher dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text is closing a chapter and a named discourse. In the broader Śānti Parva setting, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira; here the redactor’s closing formula marks the end of chapter 177 (as counted in this tradition) within Mokṣa-dharma.