Shloka 353
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत गोक्षधर्मपर्वमें उज्छवृत्तिका उपाख्यानविषयक तीन सौ तिरपनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārata-śāntiparvaṇi antargata-gokṣadharmaparvaṇi ucchavṛttikā-upākhyāna-viṣayakaḥ trīśata-tripañcāśattamaḥ adhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the three hundred and fifty-third chapter of the Śānti Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Gokṣa-dharma section, dealing with the episode concerning the ascetic practice called Ucchavṛttikā. This closing colophon marks the completion of that chapter’s teaching on dharma as illustrated through the narrative example.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a colophon, signaling the completion of a chapter whose ethical emphasis is dharma taught through an illustrative sub-tale (upākhyāna), here connected with the ascetic livelihood/practice termed ucchavṛttikā.
No new narrative action occurs; the text formally closes the chapter in the Śānti Parva, identifying its placement (within the Gokṣa-dharma section) and its subject (the ucchavṛttikā-related episode).