Shloka 274
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Consolation to the King: Exempla of Rāma and the Efficacy of Allies (मार्कण्डेयाश्वासनम्)
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत रामोपाख्यानपर्वमें राम- रावणजन्मकथनविषयक दो सौ चौद्वत्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārata-vanaparvake antargata-rāmopākhyānaparvaṇi rāma-rāvaṇa-janma-kathana-viṣayakaḥ dviśata-caturadhikā-saptatyuttaravāṁ adhyāyaḥ samāptaḥ
Thus ends the 274th chapter of the Rāmopākhyāna section within the Vana Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, dealing with the account of the births of Rāma and Rāvaṇa. This closing colophon signals the completion of a narrative unit that frames exemplary conduct and the moral consequences of one’s origins and choices.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the line primarily marks completion, but it also frames the preceding narrative as morally instructive: one’s origins are narrated to illuminate how character and choices shape destiny, reinforcing dharma through exemplary and cautionary figures.
This is the formal closing statement for the chapter that narrated matters concerning the births of Rāma and Rāvaṇa within the Rāmopākhyāna episode of the Vana Parva, indicating that the chapter has ended.