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Shloka 259

Daśagrīva-boonāvaraṇa, Viṣṇv-avatāra-niyoga, Vānara-sahāya-janana, Mantharā-nirmāṇa

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहा भारते वनपर्वणि व्रीहिद्रौणिकपर्वणि दानदुष्करत्वक थने एकोनषष्ट्यधिकद्विशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi vrīhidrāuṇikaparvaṇi dānadūṣkaratvakathane ekonaṣaṣṭyadhikadviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Así, en el venerable Mahābhārata, dentro del Vana Parva—en particular, en la subsección Vrīhidrauṇika—concluye el capítulo que trata el tema de cuán difícil puede ser el verdadero dar (dāna). Este es el capítulo doscientos cincuenta y nueve (259), que cierra esa unidad narrativa.

Word by Word

इतिthus; so (end-quote marker)

श्रीauspiciousness; venerable (honorific)

महाin the great (work)

भारतेin the Bhārata (Mahābhārata)

वनपर्वणिin the Vana-parvan (Forest Book)

व्रीहिद्रौणिकपर्वणिin the Vṛhī-drauṇika-parvan (sub-parvan title)

दानदुष्करत्वकथनेin the narration about the difficulty of giving

एकोनषष्ट्यधिकद्विशततमःthe two-hundred-fifty-ninth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Mahābhārata

Vana Parva

Vrīhidrauṇika-parvan

Dāna (charitable giving)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The colophon signals that the chapter’s ethical focus is on dāna—true giving—and emphasizes its duṣkaratva, the fact that genuine generosity is difficult because it tests attachment, intention, and righteousness rather than mere outward donation.

What is happening in the narrative?

This line functions as a concluding colophon: it closes the chapter within Vana Parva, naming the sub-section (Vrīhidrauṇika) and the topic (the account concerning the difficulty of giving), and it states the chapter count in the traditional style.