धर्मलक्षण-प्रश्नः (Marks and Sources of Dharma) | Chapter 251: Inquiry into the Definition of Dharma
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि शुकानुप्रश्ने द्विपज्चाशदधिकद्धिशततमो<5 ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi śukānupraśne dvipañcāśad-adhika-dviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Assim, no Śrī Mahābhārata, dentro do Śānti Parva—em particular, na seção Mokṣa-dharma—no episódio da indagação de Śuka, encerra-se o capítulo ducentésimo quinquagésimo segundo. Este é o colofão conclusivo que assinala o término de uma sequência de ensinamentos voltados à libertação e à disciplina ética que a sustenta.
व्यास उवाच
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it signals that the preceding discourse belongs to the Mokṣa-dharma portion of Śānti Parva and is framed as Śuka’s inquiry. The implied core orientation of the section is liberation (mokṣa) through right understanding and disciplined dharma.
The text is closing a chapter: it identifies the larger work (Mahābhārata), the book (Śānti Parva), the subsection (Mokṣa-dharma), and the narrative frame (Śuka questioning), and then marks the completion of the chapter count indicated here.