Shloka 53
Vyāsa’s Arrival at Janamejaya’s Sarpasatra; Commissioning of Vaiśaṃpāyana’s Recital (व्यासागमनम्)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्या भारत आदिपर्वके अन्तर्गत आस्तीकपर्वमें सर्पसत्रके विषयमें वायुकिवचनसम्बन्धी तिरपनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Iti prakāraṁ Śrīmahābhārate Ādiparvaṇi antar-gate Āstīkaparvaṇi sarpasatraviṣaye Vāyukivacana-sambandhī tripañcāśattamo ’dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ.
Thus ends the fifty-third chapter of the Āstīka section within the Ādi Parva of the sacred Mahābhārata, concerning the serpent-sacrifice and connected with the discourse attributed to Vāyuki. The narrative here marks a formal closure of a unit of teaching and storytelling, emphasizing how the tradition preserves events through carefully framed recitations and chapter-endings.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line functions as a colophon: it teaches how the Mahābhārata is structured and transmitted—through framed recitation, careful attribution of speeches, and explicit chapter conclusions that preserve the integrity of the narrative tradition.
The text is not advancing the plot directly; it is formally closing a chapter in the Āstīka Parva within the Ādi Parva, indicating that the chapter concerned the serpent-sacrifice (sarpasatra) and was connected with a discourse attributed to Vāyuki.