Shloka 199

Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत वनपवके अन्तर्गत मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वमें इन्द्रहुम्नोपाख्यानविषयक एक सौ निन्‍यानबेवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

Iti prakāraḥ Śrīmahābhārate Vanaparvaṇi antargate Mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvaṇi Indradyumnopākhyāna-viṣayaka ekaśata-ekonaviṃśatitamodhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ.

Translation

Thus ends the one-hundred-and-ninety-ninth chapter of the Indradyumna episode, within the Markandeya Samasya section of the Vana Parva of the sacred Mahabharata. The narration marks a formal close to this portion of the discourse as recounted by Vaiśampāyana.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

प्रकारेणin this manner; by this way

श्रीमहाभारतेin the revered Mahabharata

वनपर्वणिin the Vana Parva

अन्तर्गतincluded; contained (within)

मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वणिin the Markandeya-samasya Parva (section)

इन्द्रहुम्नोपाख्यानविषयकhaving as its subject the Indrahumnopakhyana

एकone

शतhundred

नवनवतितमःone hundred ninety-ninth

अध्यायःchapter

पूर्णःcompleted; finished

अभवत्was; became

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mahābhārata

Vana Parva

Mārkaṇḍeya (section name: Mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvan)

Indradyumna (episode: Indradyumnopākhyāna)

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 disciplined preservation of tradition by clearly marking textual boundaries—what section ends, what episode it belongs to, and where it sits within the larger epic.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana signals the formal completion of a chapter dealing with the Indradyumna episode, situated within a named sub-section of the Vana Parva. It is a structural closing statement, not a continuation of plot action.