Shanti Parva Adhyaya 263 Shloka 264 - Mahabharata | English | Vedapath

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Shloka 264

कुण्डधारोपाख्यानम्

Kuṇḍadhāra-Upākhyāna: Dharma’s Superiority over Wealth and Desire

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहा भारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि तुलाधारजाजलिसंवादे चतुःषष्ट्यधिकद्विशततमो<5 ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi tulādhāra-jājali-saṃvāde catuḥṣaṣṭyadhikadviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |

Translation

Thus ends, in the Mahabharata’s Shanti Parva, within the Moksha-dharma section, the dialogue between Tuladhara and Jajali—completing the 264th chapter. The closing formula marks the completion of a teaching episode centered on ethical conduct and liberation-oriented dharma.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीin the venerable/auspicious (as honorific)

महाभारतेin the Mahabharata

शान्तिपर्वणिin the Shanti Parva

मोक्षधर्मपर्वणिin the Mokshadharma section

तुलाधारजाजलिसंवादेin the dialogue of Tuladhara and Jajali

चतुःषष्टिsixty-four

अधिकadditional; over and above

द्विशततमःtwo-hundredth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Mahābhārata

Śānti Parva

Mokṣa-dharma Parva

Tulādhāra

Jājali

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This verse is a colophon rather than a doctrinal statement: it frames the completed Tulādhāra–Jājali discourse as part of Mokṣa-dharma within Śānti Parva, emphasizing that the preceding teaching belongs to the ethical and liberation-oriented instruction Bhīṣma gives.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma signals the end of the Tulādhāra–Jājali dialogue and notes its placement in the Mahābhārata’s Śānti Parva, Mokṣa-dharma section, identifying the chapter count as the 264th.