Shloka 281

Parāśara’s Counsel on बुद्धि (Discernment), Karma-Consequences, and Avoidance of Pāpānubandha Actions

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि वृत्रवधे एकाशीत्यधिकद्धिशततमो<5ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi vṛtravadhē ekāśītyadhikadviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

अशा प्रकारे श्रीमहाभारताच्या शान्तिपर्वातील मोक्षधर्मपर्वात वृत्रवध-विषयक दोनशे एक्याऐंशीवा अध्याय समाप्त झाला.

Word by Word

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

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the revered Mahabharata
• श्रीमहाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शान्तिपर्वणि: in the Shanti Parva
• शान्तिपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शान्तिपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि: in the Mokshadharma section (parvan)
• मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्षधर्मपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वृत्रवधे: in (the episode of) the slaying of Vritra
• वृत्रवधे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृत्रवध
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• एकाशीत्यधिकद्विशततमः: the 281st
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकाशीत्यधिकद्विशततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mahābhārata
• Śānti Parva
• Mokṣa-dharma Parva
• Vṛtra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is not a doctrinal verse but a colophon: it situates the chapter within the Mahābhārata’s Śānti Parvan, Mokṣa-dharma section, and labels the chapter’s topic as Vṛtra’s slaying—framing the surrounding discourse within the ethical and liberative concerns of Mokṣa-dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text is marking the end of a chapter. It indicates that the preceding discussion/story concerned ‘Vṛtra-vadha’ (the slaying of Vṛtra) and that this is the 281st chapter within the Mokṣa-dharma portion of the Śānti Parvan.