Shloka 64
Kṣātra-Dharma, Daṇḍanīti, and Social Order
Indra–Māndhātṛ Dialogue
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि वर्णाश्रमधर्मकथने चतु:षष्टितमो5ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi varṇāśramadharmakathane catuḥṣaṣṭitamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus ends the sixty-fourth chapter in the Śānti Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the section of instruction on the duties of kings, in the discourse on the dharmas of the social classes and stages of life. This is the formal colophon marking the close of the chapter’s teaching on righteous governance and ordered ethical life.
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it signals that the chapter’s instruction has concluded, situating the teaching within Śānti Parva’s rājadharma (ethics of kingship) and the exposition of varṇāśrama-dharma (duties by social role and life-stage).
The text formally closes the chapter by naming the larger book (Śānti Parva), the internal section (Rājadharmānuśāsana), the topic (varṇāśrama-dharma discourse), and the chapter count (64th). It functions as an editorial/narrative marker of completion.