Shloka 146
Bhīmasena–Hanūmān Saṃvāda: The Tail Test and the Divine Path
इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि तीर्थयात्रापर्वणि लोमशतीर्थयात्रायां भीमकदलीषण्डप्रवेशे षट्चत्वारिंशदधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi tīrthayātrāparvaṇi lomaśatīrthayātrāyāṃ bhīmakadalīṣaṇḍapraveśe ṣaṭcatvāriṃśad-adhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva, in the section on the pilgrimage to sacred fords, in the account of Lomāśa’s pilgrimage, at the episode of entering the plantain-grove associated with Bhīma—here ends the one-hundred-and-forty-sixth chapter (i.e., the 146th adhyāya).
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line functions as a colophon marking the close of a chapter within the pilgrimage narrative; implicitly it highlights the Mahābhārata’s emphasis on tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) as a dharmic practice during the Pāṇḍavas’ forest period, where sacred travel and remembrance of holy places support ethical reflection and spiritual merit.
The text is concluding a chapter in the Vana Parva’s Tīrthayātrā section, specifically within Lomāśa’s guided pilgrimage account, at the episode described as the Pāṇḍavas’ (notably Bhīma’s) entry into a plantain-grove (kadalī-ṣaṇḍa).