Shloka 188
Ambā’s Vow of Tapas after Paraśurāma’s Assessment (अम्बाया तपोव्रतनिश्चयः)
इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि अम्बोपाख्यानपर्वणि शिखण्ड्युत्पत्तौ अष्टाशीत्यधिकशततमो< ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi ambopākhyānaparvaṇi śikhaṇḍyutpattau aṣṭāśītyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
ビーシュマは結んだ。「かくして『聖マハーバーラタ』の『ウドヨーガ・パルヴァ』、いわゆる『アンバー物語（Amba-upākhyāna）』において、シカンディー（Śikhaṇḍī）の誕生と出現を語る第百八十八章は、ここに終わる。」この奥書は、正義、誓いに縛られた義務、そして傷と辱めが幾生にもわたりもたらす長い道徳的帰結をめぐる挿話の完結を告げるものである。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The colophon closes the Ambā–Śikhaṇḍī cycle, underscoring how actions bound to pride, coercion, and rigid vows can generate enduring moral consequences. It points to the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension between personal vows (like Bhīṣma’s) and the broader demands of justice and compassion.
This is the formal end-of-chapter marker: Bhīṣma’s narration concludes the chapter dealing with Śikhaṇḍī’s origin within the Ambā episode, situated in the Udyoga Parva as the war’s causes and key destinies are being explained.