Shloka 52
सर्पसत्रे हुतानां नागानां नामपरिगणनम् | Enumeration of Nāgas Consumed in the Sarpasatra Fire
इति श्रीमहाभारते आदिपर्वणि आस्तीकपर्वणि सर्पसत्रोपक्रमे द्विपज्चाशत्तमोडध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate ādiparvaṇi āstīkaparvaṇi sarpasatropakrame dvipañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Assim termina o quinquagésimo segundo capítulo do Ādi Parva do Śrī Mahābhārata, na seção de Āstīka, no início do sacrifício das serpentes do rei Janamejaya. A narrativa enquadra a tensão ética entre a vingança herdada e o poder moderador do dharma, que em breve será articulado pela intervenção de Āstīka.
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a chapter-ending colophon, the line itself teaches indirectly by framing the episode: it situates the story at the start of Janamejaya’s snake-sacrifice, where the ethical issue is how dharma can restrain destructive vengeance even when it is socially and ritually sanctioned.
The text marks the conclusion of the fifty-second chapter and locates the ongoing narration within the Āstīka section at the commencement of the snake-sacrifice (sarpasatra), setting the stage for the events in which the sacrifice and its consequences become central.