Shloka 74
राजधर्मः—प्रजापालनं दानयज्ञश्च
Royal Duty—Protection of Subjects, Generosity, and Sacrificial Discipline
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत राजधमनुशासनपर्वमें मुचुकुन्दका उपाख्यानविषयक चौहत्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraḥ śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi antargate rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi mucukundasyopākhyānaviṣayakaḥ catuḥsaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ samāptaḥ
Thus ends the seventy-fourth chapter, concerning the episode of King Mucukunda, within the Rājadharmānuśāsana section of the Śānti Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata. The colophon signals the close of a didactic narrative used to illuminate the duties of kingship and the ethical foundations of governance.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The chapter’s framing (as part of Rājadharma instruction) emphasizes that exemplary stories are used to clarify the ethical duties of rulers—governance grounded in dharma, restraint, and responsibility rather than mere power.
This line is a concluding colophon: it announces that the chapter dealing with the Mucukunda episode has finished, situating it within the Śānti Parva’s Rājadharmānuśāsana section and marking the end of the chapter in the text’s structure.