Shloka 188

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वणि अष्टाशीत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi mārkaṇḍeyasamāsyāparvaṇi aṣṭāśītyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

अशा प्रकारे श्रीमहाभारताच्या वनपर्वातील मार्कण्डेय-समास्यापर्वातील एकशे अठ्ठ्याऐंशीवा अध्याय समाप्त झाला.

Word by Word

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

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

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

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

• अष्टाशीत्यधिकशततमः: the one-hundred-eighty-eighth (chapter)
• अष्टाशीत्यधिकशततमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टाशीत्यधिकशततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Vana Parva
• Mārkaṇḍeya (by section name)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is not a didactic verse but a colophon. Its function is to authenticate and locate the chapter within the Mahābhārata’s structure, reminding readers that teachings and narratives are transmitted in an ordered tradition and should be interpreted in their proper textual context.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrative action pauses: the text signals the close of a chapter in the Vana Parva, specifically within the Mārkaṇḍeya-associated sub-section. It is an editorial/recensional marker rather than spoken dialogue content.