Shloka 276

Āraṇyaka-parva Adhyāya 277 — Sāvitrī-Upākhyāna: Aśvapati’s Vows and Sāvitrī’s Birth; Search for a Suitable Husband Begins

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि रामोपाख्यानपर्वणि वानराघ्युत्पत्तौ षट्सप्तत्यधिकद्विशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi rāmopākhyānaparvaṇi vānarāghyutpattau ṣaṭsaptatyadhikadviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva, in the section known as the Rāmopākhyāna, in the episode concerning the origin (utpatti) of the Vānara hosts, ends the two-hundred-and-seventy-sixth chapter. This is a concluding colophon marking the close of a narrative unit, situating the teaching within the larger ethical frame of exile, endurance, and righteous conduct.

Word by Word

• इति: thus; end-quote marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the Śrī-Mahābhārata
• श्रीमहाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमहाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वनपर्वणि: in the Vana-parvan (Forest Book)
• वनपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वनपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• रामोपाख्यानपर्वणि: in the Rāmopākhyāna-parvan (section on the Rāma narrative)
• रामोपाख्यानपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रामोपाख्यानपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वानराघ्युत्पत्तौ: in (the topic of) the origin/production of the vānara-aghya
• वानराघ्युत्पत्तौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वानराघ्युत्पत्ति
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• षट्सप्तत्यधिकद्विशततमः: the two-hundred-seventy-sixth
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट्सप्तत्यधिकद्विशततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Vana Parva
• Rāmopākhyāna-parvan
• Vānara (monkey/forest-dweller hosts)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: its function is to anchor the narrative within the Mahābhārata’s ethical landscape by marking the completion of a chapter in the Rāmopākhyāna. The implied lesson is contextual—stories of Rāma told in the forest-exile setting serve to reinforce dharma, steadfastness, and righteous perseverance amid adversity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya’s discourse reaches a formal stopping point: the text announces that the chapter dealing with the origin of the Vānara hosts within the Rāmopākhyāna section of the Vana Parva has concluded. It is a structural marker used by the tradition to organize and authenticate the transmission of the epic.