Shloka 249

द्रौपदी-शैब्यसंवादः — Draupadī’s Identification and Counsel on Hospitality

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि घोषयात्रापर्वणि दुर्योधनप्रायोपवेशे एकोनपजञ्चाशदधिकद्वधिशततमो< ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi ghoṣayātrāparvaṇi duryodhanaprāyopaveśe ekonapañcāśadadhikadvīśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Demikianlah, dalam Śrī Mahābhārata, pada Vana Parva—bagian Ghoṣa-yātrā—berakhirlah bab ke-249 tentang prāyopaveśa (puasa sampai mati) Duryodhana.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the Śrī-Mahābhārata

वनपर्वणिin the Vana-parvan (Forest Book)

घोषयात्रापर्वणिin the Ghoṣa-yātrā-parvan (Cattle-expedition sub-book)

दुर्योधनप्रायोपवेशेin (the section on) Duryodhana's fast-unto-death (prāyopaveśa)

एकोनपञ्चाशदधिकद्विशततमःthe two-hundred-fiftieth (lit. 200 + 50 − 1) [chapter]

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Vana Parva

Ghoṣa-yātrā Parva

Duryodhana

Prāyopaveśa (fasting unto death)

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?

The colophon highlights an ethical tension: when wounded pride and rivalry push a leader toward self-destruction, the act (prāyopaveśa) becomes morally charged—raising questions about rightful resolve versus manipulative despair, and the need for wise counsel to prevent adharma-driven extremes.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is the chapter-ending colophon for the episode in which Duryodhana undertakes (or resolves upon) prāyopaveśa—fasting unto death—within the Ghoṣa-yātrā sequence of the Vana Parva, marking the close of the two-hundred-and-forty-ninth chapter.