अध्याय १: महाप्रस्थानारम्भः
The Commencement of the Great Departure
विवेश गड्जां कौरव्य उलूपी भुजगात्मजा,जनमेजय! नागराजकी कन्या उलूपी उसी समय गंगाजीमें समा गयी। चित्रांगदा मणिपूर नगरमें चली गयी। तथा शेष माताएँ परीक्षितको घेरे हुए पीछे लौट आयीं
vaiśampāyana uvāca | viveśa gaṅgāṃ kauravya ulūpī bhujagātmajā, janamejaya! nāgarājakī kanyā ulūpī usī samaya gaṅgājī meṃ samā gayī | citrāṅgadā maṇipūra nagara meṃ calī gayī | tathā śeṣa mātāeṃ parīkṣita ko ghere hue pīche lauṭa āyīṃ |
Disse Vaiśampāyana: Ó Janamejaya, Ulūpī —a princesa-serpente, filha da raça dos Nāga— entrou no rio Gaṅgā. Citrāṅgadā retornou à cidade de Maṇipūra. As demais mães, cercando Parīkṣit, então voltaram.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Even after immense upheaval, dharma expresses itself as orderly conduct: individuals return to their proper domains and responsibilities, maintaining dignity, lineage-care, and social propriety rather than clinging or disorder.
Vaiśampāyana tells Janamejaya that Ulūpī, the Nāga princess, disappears into the Gaṅgā; Citrāṅgadā goes back to Maṇipūra; and the other mothers/queens, keeping Parīkṣit in their protective circle, return.