Shloka 231
Bṛhaspati’s Counsel on Contentment
Santoṣa), Restraint, and Adroha (Non-injury
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि देवस्थानवाक्ये एकविंशो5ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi devastānavākye ekaviṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ
Assim, no Śrī Mahābhārata, dentro do Śānti Parva—em particular, na seção de instrução sobre os deveres régios—encerra-se o vigésimo primeiro capítulo, composto pelas palavras proferidas por Devastāna. Esta fórmula de fecho assinala a conclusão de uma unidade de ensinamento sobre o rājadharma (a ética e as responsabilidades da realeza).
देवस्थान उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it signals that the preceding discourse belongs to the rājadharma instruction within Śānti Parva and that Devastāna’s speech (as framed by the edition) concludes here. The ethical focus indicated is governance guided by dharma.
The text is formally closing a chapter: it identifies the larger work (Mahābhārata), the book (Śānti Parva), the internal section (Rājadharmānuśāsana), the speaker attribution (Devastāna’s words), and the chapter number (21).