Shloka 263
इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि द्रौपदीहरणपर्वणि दुर्वासउपाख्याने त्रिषष्ट्यधिकद्विशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi draupadīharaṇaparvaṇi durvāsopākhyāne triṣaṣṭyadhikadviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Forest Book (Vana Parva), in the section concerning the abduction of Draupadī, in the episode (upākhyāna) of Durvāsā, ends the two-hundred-and-sixty-third chapter. This is the concluding colophon, marking the close of the chapter and setting the tale within its wider ethical frame—Draupadī’s peril and the testing of conduct in hardship, with Durvāsā’s presence often heralding trials of hospitality, restraint, and dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse primarily frames the episode: it highlights that the surrounding narrative concerns Draupadī’s crisis and Durvāsā’s episode, contexts in which dharma is tested—especially through restraint, right conduct, and the obligations of hospitality under pressure.
This line does not advance the plot; it formally closes the chapter and identifies its placement: in the Vana Parva, within the Draupadī-abduction section, specifically in the Durvāsā sub-episode, marking the end of the 263rd chapter.