Shloka 54
Vyāsa’s Arrival at Janamejaya’s Sarpasatra; Commissioning of Vaiśaṃpāyana’s Recital (व्यासागमनम्)
इति श्रीमहा भारते आदिपर्वणि आस्तीकपर्वणि सर्पसत्रे आस्तीकागमने चतुष्पञ्चाशत्तमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate ādiparvaṇi āstīkaparvaṇi sarpasatre āstīkāgamane catuṣpañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Así concluye el capítulo quincuagésimo cuarto del Ādi Parva del venerable Mahābhārata, en la sección de Āstīka—donde se narra el sacrificio de las serpientes y la llegada de Āstīka. Este colofón señala el cierre de la narración del capítulo y la sitúa en su marco ético: detener la violencia ritual destructiva mediante una intervención justa.
आस्तीक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Though this line is a colophon rather than a teaching verse, it frames the episode’s ethical thrust: dharma can require courageous, compassionate intervention to restrain destructive acts—even when those acts are ritually sanctioned.
The text signals the close of Chapter 54 in the Ādi Parva, specifically within the Āstīka section, during the account of Janamejaya’s serpent-sacrifice and the arrival of Āstīka—events that lead toward stopping the mass destruction of snakes.