Shloka 31

राजधर्मः, दण्डनीतिः, कर्तृत्व-विचारः च

Royal Duty, Lawful Discipline, and the Question of Agency

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वमें स्वर्णछ्ीवीके जन्मका उपाख्यानविषयक इकतीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti prakāraṁ śrī-mahābhārate śānti-parvaṇi antar-gate rāja-dharmānuśāsana-parvaṇi svarṇacchīvī-janmopākhyāna-viṣayaka ekatriṁśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ

Translation

Así concluye el trigésimo primer capítulo del Śānti Parva del Śrī Mahābhārata, dentro de la sección de instrucción sobre el dharma real (Rajadharmānuśāsana Parva), relativo al episodio del nacimiento de Svarṇacchīvī.

Word by Word

इतिthus

प्रकारेणin this manner/way

श्रीमहाभारतेin the revered Mahabharata

शान्तिपर्वकेof the Shanti Parva

अन्तर्गतincluded/contained (within)

राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणिin the Rajadharmanushasana Parva

स्वर्णछवीof (one named) Svarṇachavī / golden-complexioned (person)

जन्मbirth

उपाख्यानepisode/legend

विषयकconcerning/pertaining to

एकत्रिंशत्तमःthirty-first

अध्यायःchapter

समाप्तःcompleted/ended

अभवत्was/became

Speaker

पर्वत उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Śānti Parva

Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva

Svarṇacchīvī

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is a colophon marking the end of a chapter situated within teachings on rāja-dharma (royal duty). It indicates that the surrounding material uses an upākhyāna—an illustrative narrative about Svarṇacchīvī’s birth—to convey ethical and practical guidance for rulers.

What is happening in the narrative?

No new narrative action occurs here; it formally concludes the chapter. It identifies the textual location (Śānti Parva, within the Rājadharmānuśāsana section) and names the chapter’s topic as the episode concerning Svarṇacchīvī’s birth.