Shloka 240
Bhīṣma’s Admonition; Duryodhana’s Rājasūya Aspiration and the Proposal of a Vaiṣṇava-satra
इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि घोषयात्रापर्वणि गन्धर्वदुर्योधनसेनासंवादे चत्वारिंशदधिकद्विशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi ghoṣayātrāparvaṇi gandharvaduryodhanasenāsaṃvāde catvāriṃśad-adhika-dviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Assim, no Śrī Mahābhārata, dentro do Vana Parva — em particular na seção da Ghoṣa-yātrā (a expedição da incursão de gado) —, no diálogo referente aos Gandharvas e ao exército de Duryodhana, encerra-se aqui o capítulo ducentésimo quadragésimo (240).
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line functions as a colophon rather than a moral injunction: it marks the closure of a chapter and situates the episode within the larger structure of the Mahābhārata. Indirectly, by naming the Gandharva–Duryodhana-army encounter, it points to a recurring ethical motif of the epic—how arrogance and aggression can lead to humiliation and reversal.
The verse is a formal end-of-chapter marker. It identifies the setting (Vana Parva), the sub-episode (Ghoṣa-yātrā), and the topic (the account/dialogue involving the Gandharvas and Duryodhana’s forces), and then states that the chapter count has reached the 240th.