Shloka 157
नृशंस-लक्षणनिर्णयः | Determining the Marks of Cruel Conduct
Nṛśaṃsa
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि आपद्धर्मपर्वणि पवनशाल्मलिसंवादे सप्तपञठ्चाशदधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi āpaddharmaparvaṇi pavaṇaśālmalisaṃvāde saptapañcāśad-adhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
ここに、『シュリー・マハーバーラタ』の「シャーンティ・パルヴァ」（Śānti Parva）において、「アーパッドダルマ」（Āpaddharma）篇、パヴァナ（風）とシャールマリー樹（Śālmalī）との対話を説く第百五十七章は終わる。この結語（コロフォン）は教説の一段の閉幕を示し、逆境におけるダルマを説くビーシュマ（Bhīṣma）の広範な教導の中にそれを位置づける。
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it frames the teaching as part of Āpaddharma—ethical conduct under crisis—delivered through the Pavana–Śālmali dialogue within Bhīṣma’s instruction. Its function is to locate and conclude the episode, emphasizing the Mahābhārata’s method of embedding dharma-teachings in illustrative dialogues.
The text signals the end of a chapter: the Pavana (Wind) and Śālmali (tree) dialogue has concluded, and the compiler’s closing formula identifies the work (Mahābhārata), the book (Śānti Parva), the subsection (Āpaddharma), and the chapter number (157th).