Shloka 248

Koṭikāśya’s Inquiry to the Radiant Woman near the Kadamba (कोटिकाश्यप्रश्नः)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि घोषयात्रापर्वणि दुर्योधनवाक्ये अष्टचत्वारिंशदधिकद्धिशततमो<5 ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपवके अन्तर्गत घोषयात्रापर्वमें दुर्योधनवाक्यविषयक दो सौ अड़तालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi ghoṣayātrāparvaṇi duryodhanavākye aṣṭacatvāriṃśad-adhika-dviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |

Translation

Demikianlah, dalam Mahābhārata pada Vana Parva, di bagian Ghoṣa-yātrā, berakhirlah adhyāya ke-248 yang berpusat pada ucapan Duryodhana.

Word by Word

itithus; so (end-quotation marker)

śrīmahābhāratein the Śrī-Mahābhārata

vanaparvaṇiin the Vana-parvan (Forest Book)

ghoṣayātrāparvaṇiin the Ghoṣayātrā-parvan (Cattle-camp expedition section)

duryodhanavākyein (the section called) 'Duryodhana's speech'

aṣṭacatvāriṃśadadhikaforty-eight (lit. forty plus eight)

dviśatatamaḥtwo-hundredth (ordinal base for chapter numbering)

adhyāyaḥchapter

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Vana Parva

Ghoṣa-yātrā Parva (Ghoṣayātrāparvan)

Duryodhana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon, not a doctrinal verse. Its value is structural and ethical: it closes a unit of narration focused on Duryodhana’s words, implicitly inviting the reader to evaluate speech and intention as moral evidence within the epic’s larger dharma-discourse.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text signals the completion of the adhyāya in the Ghoṣa-yātrā episode of the Vana Parva, specifically the chapter whose content is framed as Duryodhana’s speech. It functions as a formal end-of-chapter marker in the transmission tradition.