Shloka 42
Mātali’s Arrival and Arjuna’s Ascent toward Amarāvatī (मातलिसंयुक्तरथागमनम् तथा इन्द्रलोकगमनारम्भः)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्या भारत वनपवकि अन्तर्गत इन्द्रलोकाभिगमनपर्वमें बयालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṃ śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi antargate indralokābhigamana-parvaṇi dvicatvāriṃśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the forty-second chapter of the Indralokābhigamana section within the Vana Parva of the great Mahābhārata. This is a colophon marking the completion of the chapter and signaling a transition in the narrative.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is not a doctrinal verse but a colophon: it teaches how the epic is traditionally organized—by parva and adhyāya—and signals closure and continuity in transmission.
No new event is narrated here; it simply announces that the forty-second chapter of the Indralokābhigamana section within the Vana Parva has concluded, preparing the reader for the next chapter.