Shloka 259
चिरकारि-उपाख्यानम् / The Exemplum of Cirakārī: Deliberation Before Irreversible Action
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि धर्मलक्षणे एकोनषष्ट्यधिकद्वधिशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi dharmalakṣaṇe ekonaṣaṣṭyadhikadvīśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Śānti Parva—specifically the Mokṣa-dharma section—ends the chapter on the characteristics of dharma, being the two-hundred-and-fifty-ninth chapter. (This is a colophon marking the close of the discourse.)
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a teaching verse: it signals that the preceding discourse has concluded and identifies its placement—Śānti Parva, Mokṣa-dharma section—and its topic, ‘the characteristics of dharma.’
The text is closing a chapter of Bhīṣma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira. The colophon formally marks the end of the adhyāya and situates it within the larger structure of the Mahābhārata.