Shloka 58
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
इति श्रीमहाभारते कर्णपर्वणि वासुदेववाक्ये अष्टपञ्चाशत्तमो5ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate karṇaparvaṇi vāsudevavākye aṣṭapañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Karṇa Parva, in the section known as “Vāsudeva’s discourse,” the fifty-eighth chapter concludes. The colophon signals a transition: after Kṛṣṇa’s morally charged counsel amid the pressures of war, the narrative moves onward, framing his words as authoritative guidance within the epic’s ethical struggle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it teaches by framing—Kṛṣṇa (Vāsudeva) is presented as a decisive moral authority whose counsel is preserved as a distinct unit within the war narrative, emphasizing that ethical guidance remains central even amid violence.
Sañjaya marks the close of a chapter in the Karṇa Parva, specifically the chapter identified as “Vāsudeva’s discourse.” It functions as an editorial/narrative boundary indicating that Kṛṣṇa’s speech has concluded and the epic proceeds to the next segment.