Shloka 215
आरण्यकपर्वणि अध्यायः २१६ — इन्द्र-स्कन्द-संमुखता वज्रप्रहारश्च
Indra approaches Skanda; vajra strike and the arising of Viśākha
इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वणि ब्राह्मणव्याधसंवादे पजञ्चदशाधिकद्वधिशततमो< ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत मार्कण्डेयसगास्यापर्वमें ब्राह्मण- व्याधसंवादविषयक दो सौ पंद्रहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvaṇi brāhmaṇa-vyādha-saṃvāde pañcadaśādhika-dviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva, in the section connected with Mārkaṇḍeya, in the dialogue between the Brāhmaṇa and the hunter (Vyādha), the two-hundred-and-fifteenth chapter concludes. This closing colophon signals the completion of the teaching episode, framing the Vyādha’s ethical instruction as an authoritative part of the epic’s discourse on dharma in everyday life.
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
This verse is a colophon rather than a teaching verse: it marks the formal end of the Brāhmaṇa–Vyādha dialogue. Its significance is contextual—presenting the Vyādha’s instruction on dharma (right conduct in ordinary life) as a completed, authoritative unit within Vana Parva.
The text announces the conclusion of the two-hundred-and-fifteenth chapter in the Vana Parva, specifically the portion describing the dialogue between a Brāhmaṇa and a hunter (Vyādha), situated within the section associated with the sage Mārkaṇḍeya.