Shloka 356
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत गोक्षधर्मपर्वमें उज्छवृत्तिका उपाख्यानविषयक तीन सौ छप्पनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārata-śāntiparva-antargata-gokṣadharmaparvaṇi ujjhavṛttikā-upākhyāna-viṣayakaḥ trīśata-ṣaṭpañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the three hundred and fifty-sixth chapter of the Śānti Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the section known as the Gokṣa-dharma Parva, dealing with the illustrative tale (upākhyāna) of Ujjhavṛttikā. This closing colophon marks the completion of that chapter’s teaching on dharma through narrative example.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it signals that the chapter’s dharma-instruction has been delivered through the Ujjhavṛttikā upākhyāna, emphasizing the Mahābhārata’s method of teaching ethics via illustrative stories.
The text is formally closing the chapter: it states that within the Śānti Parva, in the Gokṣadharma section, the chapter concerning the Ujjhavṛttikā tale has been completed, with Bhīṣma as the speaker in the surrounding discourse.