Shloka 188
अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः
The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वमें एक सौ अद्ठासीवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Iti prakāraḥ Śrīmahābhārate Vanaparvaṇi antargate Mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvaṇi ekaśatāṣṭāśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ samāptaḥ.
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva, the one hundred and eighty-eighth chapter of the Markandeya-summary section comes to an end. This closing formula signals a pause in the narration and marks the completion of a unit of teaching and storytelling before the next movement of the epic continues.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it teaches how the epic is organized and transmitted—marking the completion of a chapter and signaling continuity of narration through formal closures.
The narrator (Vaiśampāyana) is not advancing the plot here; instead, the text announces that a chapter within the Vana Parva—specifically within the Markandeya-summary subsection—has concluded, preparing the reader for the next chapter.