Shloka 261
Jatāyu’s Resistance, Sītā’s Traces, Kabandha’s Release, and the Path to Sugrīva (Āraṇyaka-parva 263)
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत व्रीहिद्रीणिकपर्वमें मुदूगल-देवदूत- संवादविषयक दो सौ इकसठवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṃ śrīmahābhārate vanaparvake antargataṃ vrīhidrīṇikaparvaṇi mudgala-devadūta-saṃvādaviṣayakaṃ dviśataikaṣaṣṭitamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the two hundred and sixty-first chapter of the Mahābhārata’s Vana Parva, within the section known as the Vrīhīdrīṇika Parva, dealing with the dialogue between Mudgala and the divine messenger. The colophon marks the completion of a teaching episode centered on righteous conduct and the moral force of austere, selfless living.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a chapter-colophon, the line chiefly marks completion, but it points to the ethical thrust of the episode: dharma is illuminated through the Mudgala–divine messenger dialogue, where steadfast self-restraint, truthfulness, and contentment are upheld as spiritually potent forms of right living.
Vaiśaṃpāyana’s closing formula announces that the chapter dealing with the Mudgala–Devadūta conversation—situated within the Vrīhīdrīṇika section of the Vana Parva—has concluded, signaling the end of that instructional narrative unit.