Shloka 54
Vāg-yuddha and Nimitta-darśana before the Gadāyuddha
Verbal Duel and Omens
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत शल्यपर्वके अन्तर्गत गदापव॑नें बलदेवजीकी तीर्थयात्राके प्रसंगमें सारस्वतोपाख्यानविषयक चौवनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārata-śalya-parvake antargata-gadāpavane baladevājī-kī tīrthayātrāke prasaṅgame sārasvatopākhyāna-viṣayaka catuḥpañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ abhūt
Demikian berakhir bab ke-54 dalam Śalya Parva dari Śrī Mahābhārata, pada bagian Gadāparvan, dalam konteks ziarah suci Baladeva, yang memuat kisah Sārasvata Upākhyāna.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a chapter-colophon, the verse teaches indirectly: even amid a war-book (Śalya Parva), the Mahābhārata preserves dharma through structured narration—pilgrimage and exemplary sub-tales are presented as means to recall, transmit, and re-anchor ethical order.
Vaiśampāyana signals the completion of the fifty-fourth chapter: the Sārasvata Upākhyāna has been told within the broader context of Baladeva’s tīrthayātrā during the Gadā (mace-related) episode in Śalya Parva, and the text now prepares to move to the next segment.