Shloka 56
दमयन्त्याः कार्यनिश्चयः — Damayantī’s Crisis Plan and Vārṣṇeya’s Departure
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत नलोपाख्यानपर्वमें नलकर्तृक देवदौत्यविषयक छप्पनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārate vanaparvake antargata nalopākhyānaparvame nalakṛtṛka devadūtyaviṣayaka ṣaṭpañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Así concluye el capítulo quincuagésimo sexto, relativo al relato de Nala acerca del mensajero divino, dentro del episodio de Nala en el Vana Parva del sagrado Mahābhārata. Este colofón final señala el cierre de una unidad narrativa y enmarca el episodio como ejemplo moral: aun en sucesos extraordinarios mediados por lo divino, la conducta humana se mide por el dharma.
नल उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse’s function is to mark completion and to frame the preceding narrative as a coherent moral unit. It implicitly reinforces that the Nala episode is preserved not merely as story, but as instruction—highlighting dharma and ethical discernment even when events involve divine agencies.
This line is not a spoken verse of plot but an editorial/recensional closing statement: it announces that the fifty-sixth chapter—about Nala’s account involving a divine messenger—has concluded within the Nalopākhyāna section of the Vana Parva.