Shloka 84
कुरुसभायां केशवागमन-सत्कारविधानम् / Preparations to Honor Keśava at the Kuru Court
इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि भगवद्यानपर्वणि श्रीकृष्णप्रयाणे चतुरशीतितमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi bhagavadyānaparvaṇi śrīkṛṣṇaprayāṇe caturaśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Udyoga Parva—specifically in the section describing the Lord’s diplomatic mission—ends the eighty-fourth chapter, recounting Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s departure. The colophon signals a transition: Kṛṣṇa sets forth as an emissary to seek a dharmic resolution before war becomes inevitable, underscoring that righteous counsel and peace-making are to be attempted prior to violence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when conflict looms, dharma requires sincere attempts at reconciliation through counsel and diplomacy; only after exhausting peaceful means does recourse to force become thinkable.
This is the chapter-ending colophon: it marks the close of the eighty-fourth chapter in the Udyoga Parva’s Bhagavad-yāna section, indicating that the narration has reached the point of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s departure on his mission.