Shloka 240

Bhīṣma’s Admonition; Duryodhana’s Rājasūya Aspiration and the Proposal of a Vaiṣṇava-satra

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि घोषयात्रापर्वणि गन्धर्वदुर्योधनसेनासंवादे चत्वारिंशदधिकद्विशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi ghoṣayātrāparvaṇi gandharvaduryodhanasenāsaṃvāde catvāriṃśad-adhika-dviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva—specifically in the section on the cattle-raid expedition (Ghoṣa-yātrā)—in the dialogue concerning the Gandharvas and Duryodhana’s army, ends the two-hundred-and-fortieth chapter (240).

Word by Word

• इति: thus; end-quote marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the holy Mahabharata
• श्रीमहाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमहाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वनपर्वणि: in the Vana-parvan (Forest Book)
• वनपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वनपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• घोषयात्रापर्वणि: in the Ghoṣa-yātrā-parvan (Cattle-camp expedition sub-book)
• घोषयात्रापर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: घोषयात्रापर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• गन्धर्वदुर्योधनसेनासंवादे: in the dialogue of the Gandharvas and Duryodhana's army
• गन्धर्वदुर्योधनसेनासंवादे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्वदुर्योधनसेनासंवाद
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• चत्वारिंशत्: forty
• Type: Noun
• Root: चत्वारिंशत्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अधिक: additional; over and above
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिक
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• द्विशततमः: two-hundred-and-fortieth (lit. 200th+40th)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्विशततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mahābhārata
• Vana Parva
• Ghoṣa-yātrā Parvan
• Gandharvas
• Duryodhana
• Duryodhana’s army

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line functions as a colophon rather than a moral injunction: it marks the closure of a chapter and situates the episode within the larger structure of the Mahābhārata. Indirectly, by naming the Gandharva–Duryodhana-army encounter, it points to a recurring ethical motif of the epic—how arrogance and aggression can lead to humiliation and reversal.

What is happening in the narrative?

The verse is a formal end-of-chapter marker. It identifies the setting (Vana Parva), the sub-episode (Ghoṣa-yātrā), and the topic (the account/dialogue involving the Gandharvas and Duryodhana’s forces), and then states that the chapter count has reached the 240th.