Shloka 98
दधीच्यास्थिवज्रनिर्माणोपाख्यानम् | The Forging of the Vajra from Dadhīca’s Bones
इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि तीर्थयात्रापर्वणि लोमशतीर्थयात्रायामगस्त्योपाख्याने अष्टनवतितमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi tīrthayātrāparvaṇi lomaśatīrthayātrāyām agastyopākhyāne aṣṭanavatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus ends the ninety-eighth chapter in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva, in the section on the pilgrimage to sacred fords (Tīrtha-yātrā Parva), in the account of Lomāśa’s pilgrimage, in the episode concerning Agastya. This is a colophon marking the close of the chapter and situating the narrative within the larger ethical frame of pilgrimage, sacred memory, and exemplary sages.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach a new doctrine directly; it frames the reading within the dharmic practice of tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) and the authority of sage narratives, implying that sacred travel and remembrance of exemplary ṛṣis support ethical cultivation and purification.
The text is closing Adhyāya 98 and identifying its placement: Vana Parva → Tīrtha-yātrā Parva → Lomāśa’s pilgrimage narration → the Agastya episode. It functions as a structural marker rather than spoken dialogue content.