Shloka 69
ऋतुपर्णस्य विदर्भयात्रा-निश्चयः तथा बाहुकस्य हयपरिक्षा (Ṛtuparṇa’s resolve to go to Vidarbha and Bāhuka’s examination of horses)
इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि नलोपाख्यानपर्वणि नलान्वेषणे एकोनसप्ततितमो< ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत नलोपाख्यानपर्वमें नलकी खोजविषयक उनहत्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi nalopākhyānaparvaṇi nalānveṣaṇe ekonasaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ |
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva, in the section known as the Nala-upākhyāna, the sixty-ninth chapter—concerning the search for Nala—comes to an end. (This is a colophon marking the close of the chapter rather than a spoken verse.)
युदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, this line does not teach a doctrine directly; it signals textual closure. Indirectly, by naming the theme 'search for Nala,' it underscores perseverance and fidelity in adversity—central ethical motifs of the Nala narrative.
The chapter concludes. The colophon identifies the location in the epic (Vana Parva), the embedded tale (Nala-upākhyāna), and the chapter’s focus (the search for Nala), marking the end of Adhyāya 69.