Shloka 84
सान्त्व-निति: (Sāntva-Nīti) — The One-Word Principle of Conciliation
इति श्रीमहा भारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि इन्द्रबृूहस्पतिसंवादे चतुरशीतितमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi indrabṛhaspatisamvāde caturāśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Ainsi s’achève le quatre-vingt-quatrième chapitre du dialogue entre Indra et Bṛhaspati dans le Mahābhārata, au sein du Śānti Parva—plus précisément dans la section d’instruction concernant le dharma des rois. Ce colophon marque l’achèvement d’un ensemble d’enseignements sur la gouvernance juste et l’éthique de l’art d’État, transmis par ce dialogue.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it frames the teaching as part of the Rājadharma instruction delivered through the Indra–Bṛhaspati dialogue, emphasizing that the surrounding material concerns ethical kingship and righteous governance.
The text marks the close of a chapter: within Śānti Parva’s instruction on royal duties, the Indra–Bṛhaspati conversation reaches the end of its eighty-fourth chapter, and the compiler’s closing formula records its placement in the epic’s structure.