Shloka 251
मृत्योर्ब्रह्मणा नियोजनम् — The Commissioning of Mṛtyu by Brahmā
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि शुकानुप्रश्ने एकपज्चाशदधिकद्विशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi śukānupraśne ekapañcāśadadhikadviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus ends the two-hundred-and-fifty-first chapter in the Śānti Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Mokṣadharma section, in the episode concerning Śuka’s inquiries. This is the concluding colophon marking the close of the chapter and situating it within the larger ethical and liberation-focused discourse of the text.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse; it signals that the surrounding chapter belongs to Mokṣadharma, framing its core concern as liberation-oriented dharma—ethical and spiritual disciplines discussed in response to Śuka’s inquiries.
The text is closing a chapter: it formally states the work (Mahābhārata), the book (Śānti Parva), the subsection (Mokṣadharma), the narrative frame (Śuka’s questions), and the chapter count, thereby marking the end of that unit of discourse.