Shloka 266

Setubandha-Niścaya (Decision for the Causeway) and Vānara-Senā Saṃniveśa — Bridge Strategy and Alliance Consolidation

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि द्रौपदीहरणपर्वणि द्रौपदीवाक्ये षट्षष्ट्यधिकद्विशततमो<5 ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi draupadīharaṇaparvaṇi draupadīvākye ṣaṭṣaṣṭyadhikadviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus ends, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva—specifically the section concerning the abduction of Draupadī—Draupadī’s discourse: the two-hundred and sixty-sixth chapter. This is a formal colophon marking the close of a chapter and situating it within the epic’s larger moral narrative.

Word by Word

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

• श्री: in the venerable/holy (as honorific)
• श्री: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• महाभारते: in the Mahabharata
• महाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

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

• द्रौपदीहरणपर्वणि: in the Draupadi-harana-parvan (section on Draupadi's abduction)
• द्रौपदीहरणपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रौपदीहरणपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• द्रौपदीवाक्ये: in (the passage of) Draupadi's speech
• द्रौपदीवाक्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रौपदीवाक्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• षट्षष्टि: sixty-six
• Type: Noun
• Root: षट्षष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

• द्विशततमः: two-hundredth
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्विशततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Vana Parva
• Draupadī-haraṇa Parva (episode/section)
• Draupadī
• Vaiśampāyana (speaker label)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a didactic verse: it teaches indirectly by emphasizing textual accountability—clearly marking where a discourse ends and how it is situated within the epic’s ethical narrative (Draupadī’s words within the forest-exile context and the abduction episode).

What is happening in the narrative?

The chapter concludes. The text formally states that Draupadī’s discourse in the Draupadī-abduction episode (within the Vana Parva) has ended, identifying it as the 266th chapter in that internal count.