Shloka 226
Duryodhana’s Departure toward Dvaītavana; Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Caution and Śakuni’s Assurance
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वमें आंड्रियोपाख्यानके प्रसंगर्ें स्कन््दकी उत्पत्तिविषयक दो सौ छब्बीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Iti prakāraṁ Śrīmahābhārate Vanaparvaṇi antargate Mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvaṇi Āṇḍriyopākhyāna-prasaṅge Skanda-utpatti-viṣayakaḥ dviśata-ṣaḍviṁśat-tamo ’dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ.
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva—specifically in the Markandeya Samasya section—on the occasion of the Āṇḍriya episode, the two-hundred-and-twenty-sixth chapter, dealing with the birth/origin of Skanda, is concluded. The colophon signals a transition: the narrative frame (Markandeya’s discourse) closes this unit and prepares the listener to move onward, emphasizing orderly transmission of sacred history and its moral exemplars.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse primarily teaches textual discipline and continuity: sacred narratives are transmitted in ordered units (parva, upākhyāna, adhyāya), and the conclusion marker preserves clarity about speaker, setting, and subject—supporting faithful remembrance and study.
This line is not a spoken verse of the story but an editorial/narrative closure: it states that the 226th chapter—within Vana Parva, in the Markandeya-framed section, during the Āṇḍriya episode—on the topic of Skanda’s origin has ended.