Varṇāśrama-ācāra and Vikarma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry on Safe Dharmas (शिवधर्मप्रश्नः)
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि चतुराश्रमधर्मकथने एकषष्टितमो5ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi caturāśramadharmakathane ekaṣaṣṭitamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Ainsi, dans le Śrī Mahābhārata, au sein du Śānti Parva—plus précisément dans la section d’instruction sur le rājadharma—s’achève le soixante et unième chapitre, qui expose les devoirs des quatre āśramas (étapes de la vie).
भीष्म उवाच
This line is a colophon marking the close of a chapter whose subject is caturāśrama-dharma—the ethical duties appropriate to the four stages of life—presented within Bhīṣma’s broader instruction on rājadharma (the king’s responsibilities).
The text signals the end of the sixty-first chapter in the Śānti Parva’s rājadharma instruction section. It functions as an editorial/structural closure rather than a spoken verse content, summarizing the chapter’s theme.