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Shloka 273

Brahmāstra-prayogaḥ: Daśagrīvasya Māyā-vadhaḥ

Rāma–Rāvaṇa Encounter under Illusion

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि रामोपाख्यानपर्वणि युधिष्ठिरप्रश्ने त्रिसप्तत्यधिकद्धिशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi rāmopākhyānaparvaṇi yudhiṣṭhirapraśne trisaptatyadhikadviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus, in the revered Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva, in the section known as the Rāmopākhyāna, in connection with Yudhiṣṭhira’s question, ends the two-hundred-and-seventy-fourth chapter (274).

Word by Word

itithus; so (end-quotation marker)

śrīmahābhāratein the venerable Mahābhārata

vanaparvaṇiin the Vana-parvan (Forest Book)

rāmopākhyānaparvaṇiin the Rāmopākhyāna-parvan (section on the Rāma narrative)

yudhiṣṭhirapraśnein Yudhiṣṭhira's question

trisaptatyadhikahaving seventy-three in addition (i.e., 273rd)

dviśatatamaḥtwo-hundredth (ordinal element in the chapter number)

adhyāyaḥchapter

Speaker

युधिषछ्िर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Vana Parva

Rāmopākhyāna (episode/section)

Yudhiṣṭhira

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a teaching verse: it signals the formal close of a chapter and situates it within the Mahābhārata’s nested structure (Parva → sub-episode → narrative prompt). Ethically, it reminds the reader that the Rāmopākhyāna is presented as a response to Yudhiṣṭhira’s dharma-centered questioning.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text is marking the end of Adhyāya 274 in the Vana Parva, specifically within the Rāmopākhyāna episode, noting that the chapter belongs to the sequence prompted by Yudhiṣṭhira’s inquiry.