Shloka 259
Rāma’s Abhiṣeka Plan, Kaikeyī’s Boon, and the Initiation of the Exile
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत व्रीहिद्रीणिकपर्वमें दानकी दुष्करताका प्रतिपादनविषय दो सौ उनसठवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraḥ śrīmahābhārata-vanaparvaṇi antargata-vrīhidhṛṇikaparvaṇi dānasya duṣkaratā-pratipādana-viṣaye dviśata-ūnasaṣṭitamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the two hundred and fifty-ninth chapter in the Vana Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vrīhidhṛṇika sub-section, where the difficulty and rarity of true giving (dāna) is set forth—underscoring that generosity is a demanding ethical discipline rather than a casual act.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The chapter’s stated focus is the exposition of dāna’s duṣkaratā—true giving is difficult because it demands inner detachment, right intention, and steadfastness in dharma, not merely the outward act of donating.
This line functions as a colophon marking the completion of a chapter in the Gīta Press edition: it identifies the larger book (Vana Parva), the internal sub-section (Vrīhidhṛṇika-parvan), and the chapter’s theme (the difficulty of giving), and then declares the chapter finished.