Shloka 171
पराशरस्य राक्षससत्रनिवृत्तिः | Paraśara’s Rakṣasa-Satra and Its Cessation
इति श्रीमहाभारते आदिपर्वणि चैत्ररथपर्वणि तपत्युपाख्याने एकसप्तत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate ādiparvaṇi caitrarathaparvaṇi tapatyupākhyāne ekasaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Ādi Parva—specifically the Caitraratha section—this concludes the episode concerning Tapatī, marking the one-hundred-and-seventy-second chapter.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line functions as a colophon rather than a didactic verse: it highlights how the Mahābhārata frames ethical and historical reflection through nested narratives (upākhyānas), carefully locating each episode within the epic’s larger structure.
The text is marking closure: it announces that the Tapatī sub-story, situated within the Caitraratha section of the Ādi Parva, has concluded, and it identifies the chapter number as 172.