Shloka 242
Ritual Acclamation at Hastināpura and Karṇa’s Vow Concerning Arjuna (राजकीय स्तुति-प्रसङ्गः कर्णप्रतिज्ञा च)
इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि घोषयात्रापर्वणि दुर्योधनादिहरणे द्विचत्वारिंशदधिकद्विशततमो 5 ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत वनपव्वके अन्तर्गत घोषयात्रापर्वमें दुर्योधन आदिका अपहरणविषयक दो सौ बयालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi ghoṣayātrāparvaṇi duryodhanādiharaṇe dvicatvāriṃśadadhikadviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva, in the section concerning the cattle-march (Ghoṣa-yātrā), the chapter dealing with the abduction of Duryodhana and his party comes to an end—this being the two-hundred-and-forty-second chapter. The colophon marks the completion of the episode, framing it as a moral turning-point where pride and aggression meet humiliation and restraint becomes the implied lesson.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction but by framing the episode’s moral arc: arrogance and hostility invite downfall, while restraint and adherence to dharma are implicitly upheld as the proper response to conflict.
This is the closing colophon of the chapter: it announces that the Mahābhārata’s Vana Parva chapter on the Ghoṣa-yātrā episode—specifically the abduction/carrying off of Duryodhana and his party—has concluded.