Shloka 51

सर्पसत्रे हुतानां नागानां नामपरिगणनम् | Enumeration of Nāgas Consumed in the Sarpasatra Fire

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत आदिपव॑के अन्तर्गत आस्तीकपर्वमें यर्पसत्रोपक्रमसम्बन्धी इक्यावनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārata-ādiparva-ke antargata āstīka-parva-meṁ sarpa-satra-opakrama-sambandhī ekyāvanavāṁ adhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ huā

Translation

Así concluye el capítulo quincuagésimo primero de la sección de Āstīka, dentro del Ādi Parva del Śrī Mahābhārata, relativo al comienzo y a los preparativos del sacrificio de serpientes de Janamejaya.

Word by Word

इतिthus

प्रकारम्manner/way

श्रीrevered/auspicious (honorific)

महाभारतम्the Mahabharata

आदिin the beginning/first

पर्वकेin the parva-section (pertaining to parva)

अन्तर्गतincluded/contained within

आस्तीकin (the) Astika (section)

पर्वम्in the parva/episode

यर्पसत्रin the (so-called) yarpasatra (unclear reading)

उपक्रमin the commencement/beginning

सम्बन्धीrelated to/connected with

एकone

पञ्चाशत्fifty

एकone

अध्यायःchapter

पूर्णःcompleted/finished

अभवत्was/became

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Ādi Parva

Āstīka Parva

Sarpa-satra (snake-sacrifice)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

As a colophon, the line does not teach through a direct maxim; it frames the ethical arena: a royal sacrifice driven by vengeance is being set in motion, preparing the reader to evaluate dharma—especially the limits of retribution and the need for restraint and right counsel.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is an end-of-chapter closing statement indicating that the fifty-first chapter—about the preliminaries to the snake-sacrifice (sarpa-satra) within the Āstīka Parva of the Ādi Parva—has concluded, marking a transition to the next portion of the story.