Shloka 195

स्त्रीणां माहात्म्यप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into the Excellence of Women

Pativratā-Dharma

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वणि नाहुषचरिते पञ्चनवत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvaṇi nāhuṣacarite pañcanavatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ ശ്രീമഹാഭാരതത്തിലെ വനപർവത്തിലെ മാർകണ്ഡേയസമാസ്യാപർവാന്തർഗതമായ നാഹുഷചരിതത്തിന്റെ നൂറ്റിത്തൊണ്ണൂറ്റിയഞ്ചാം അധ്യായം സമാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• इति: thus; end-quote marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the (holy) Mahabharata
• श्रीमहाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमहाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वनपर्वणि: in the Forest Book (Vana Parva)
• वनपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वनपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वणि: in the Markandeya-samasyā section (sub-parvan)
• मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्कण्डेय-समास्या-पर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• नाहुषचरिते: in the episode/story of Nahusha
• नाहुषचरिते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाहुषचरित
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• पञ्चनवत्यधिकशततमः: the one-hundred-and-ninety-fifth (chapter)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चनवति-अधिक-शततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mahābhārata
• Vana Parva
• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Nahusha

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a didactic verse; its function is to mark the close of a chapter and locate it within the Mahabharata’s larger structure, reminding readers that ethical narratives (like Nahusha’s) are embedded in an organized textual tradition.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrative action pauses: the text formally announces the end of a chapter in the Nahusha story, situated within the Markandeya-related section of the Vana Parva.