Shloka 254
जयद्रथ-निग्रहः — Jayadratha Restrained, Shamed, and Released
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत घोषयात्रापर्वमें कर्णदिग्विजयसम्बन्धी दो सौ चौवनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārate vanaparvake antargata ghoṣayātrāparvaṇi karṇadigvijaya-sambandhī dviśata-catuḥpañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the two hundred and fifty-fourth chapter of the Mahābhārata’s Vana Parva, within the Ghoṣa-yātrā sub-episode, dealing with Karṇa’s campaign of conquest. The line functions as a formal colophon, marking the completion of a narrative unit and signaling a transition to what follows.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
This is a colophon rather than a didactic verse: it teaches by form, emphasizing orderly transmission of tradition—chapters are carefully delimited, and themes (here, Karṇa’s digvijaya) are explicitly named to preserve clarity and accountability in narration.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana signals that the chapter concerning Karṇa’s campaign of conquest, situated within the Ghoṣa-yātrā episode of the Vana Parva, has concluded; the text is about to move to the next section.