Shloka 231
Bṛhaspati’s Counsel on Contentment
Santoṣa), Restraint, and Adroha (Non-injury
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि देवस्थानवाक्ये एकविंशो5ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi devastānavākye ekaviṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ
Ainsi, dans le Śrī Mahābhārata, au sein du Śānti Parva—plus précisément dans la section d’instruction sur les devoirs royaux—s’achève le vingt-et-unième chapitre, constitué des paroles prononcées par Devastāna. Cette formule de clôture marque l’achèvement d’un ensemble d’enseignements sur le rājadharma (l’éthique et les responsabilités de la royauté).
देवस्थान उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it signals that the preceding discourse belongs to the rājadharma instruction within Śānti Parva and that Devastāna’s speech (as framed by the edition) concludes here. The ethical focus indicated is governance guided by dharma.
The text is formally closing a chapter: it identifies the larger work (Mahābhārata), the book (Śānti Parva), the internal section (Rājadharmānuśāsana), the speaker attribution (Devastāna’s words), and the chapter number (21).