Shloka 309
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत कुण्डलाहरणपर्वमें सूर्य-कर्णसंवादविषयक तीन सौ एकवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraḥ śrīmahābhārate vanaparvake antargate kuṇḍalāharaṇaparvaṇi sūrya-karṇa-saṃvāda-viṣayakaḥ trīśata-ekaḥ adhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ abhavat
Thus ends the three-hundred-and-first chapter of the Vana Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the episode known as the “Abduction of the Earrings,” centered on the dialogue between Sūrya and Karṇa. This closing formula marks the completion of the section, underscoring the ethical tension between divine counsel and human choice that frames Karṇa’s impending sacrifice and the larger moral stakes of the war to come.
सूर्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when warned by divine authority, a person’s dharma is tested through voluntary choice. The colophon closes a dialogue that frames Karṇa’s coming act as an ethical decision—balancing honor, generosity, and self-preservation—within the larger moral economy of the epic.
This line is a concluding colophon stating that the chapter on the Sūrya–Karṇa conversation, situated in the Kuṇḍalāharaṇa episode within the Vana Parva, has ended. It functions as a structural marker rather than advancing plot through new speech.