Shloka 189

अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः

The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वणि भविष्यकथने एकोननवत्यधिकशततमो< ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वमें भविष्यकथनविषयक एक सौ नवासीवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvaṇi bhaviṣyakathane ekonanavatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva, in the section known as the Mārkaṇḍeya-samāsya Parva, the chapter concerned with the narration of future events—namely the one hundred and eighty-ninth chapter—comes to its conclusion.”

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीin the venerable/auspicious (work)

महाभारतेin the Mahābhārata

वनपर्वणिin the Vana-parvan (Forest Book)

मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वणिin the Markandeya-samāsya section/parvan

भविष्यकथनेin the narration of the future (prophecy)

एकोननवत्यधिकशततमःthe one-hundred-and-eighty-ninth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mahābhārata

Vana Parva

Mārkaṇḍeya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line functions as a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it emphasizes the Mahābhārata’s careful textual organization—parva, sub-parva, and chapter—framing the preceding discourse as a ‘bhaviṣya-kathana’ (account of future events) and marking its completion.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana signals the end of the relevant chapter within Vana Parva, specifically within the Mārkaṇḍeya-related sub-section, indicating that the portion dealing with future events has concluded.