Shloka 206

Agni’s Withdrawal to the Forest and Identification with Āṅgirasa (अग्न्याङ्गिरस-इतिहासः)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वणि पतिव्रतोपाख्याने षडधिकद्धिशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvaṇi pativratopākhyāne ṣaḍadhikadviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus ends the two-hundred-and-sixth chapter in the Vana Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the section known as the Markandeya-samāsya Parva, in the episode (upākhyāna) concerning the devoted wife (pativratā).

Word by Word

• iti: thus; so
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti

• śrīmahābhārate: in the revered Mahābhārata
• śrīmahābhārate: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrīmahābhārata
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• vanaparvaṇi: in the Vana-parvan (Forest Book)
• vanaparvaṇi: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: vanaparvan
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvaṇi: in the (sub-)parvan called ‘Mārkaṇḍeya-samāsya’
• mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvaṇi: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya-samāsya-parvan
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• pativratopākhyāne: in the episode (upākhyāna) of the devoted wife
• pativratopākhyāne: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: pativrata-upākhyāna
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• ṣaṭ: six
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ

• adhika: additional; exceeding
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhika
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• dviśatatamaḥ: two-hundredth (ordinal)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dviśata-tama
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Vana Parva
• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Pativratopākhyāna

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line functions as a colophon, framing the preceding narrative as an ethical exemplum: the pativratā ideal—steadfast marital devotion understood as a form of dharma—presented within Mārkaṇḍeya’s instructive storytelling.

What is happening in the narrative?

The verse marks the formal close of a chapter in the Vana Parva, specifically within the Markandeya-related section and the episode about a devoted wife; it signals completion rather than advancing plot events.