Shloka 286
Pṛthā’s Atithi-Sevā and the Gift of the Deva-Āhvāna Mantra (पृथायाः अतिथिसेवा तथा देवाह्वानमन्त्रप्रदानम्)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत रामोपाख्यानपर्वमें कुम्भकर्णका युद्धके लिये प्रस्थानविषयक दो सौ छियासीवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraḥ śrīmahābhārate vanaparvake antargate rāmopākhyānaparvaṇi kumbhakarṇasya yuddhāya prasthāna-viṣayakaḥ dviśata-ṣaḍaśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Assim termina o capítulo duzentos e oitenta e seis do Rāmopākhyāna, dentro do Vana Parva do venerável Mahābhārata, descrevendo a partida de Kumbhakarṇa para travar batalha. Este colofão assinala a transição do enredo para a escalada da guerra, em que dever, lealdade e as consequências de servir a uma liderança injusta se tornam mais nítidos.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the line does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the ethical tension of the coming battle: how personal duty and loyalty can become morally fraught when aligned with an unrighteous cause, and how war intensifies the consequences of such choices.
The text marks the completion of a chapter in the Rāmopākhyāna within Vana Parva, specifically the chapter dealing with Kumbhakarṇa’s setting out to fight, signaling the narrative’s movement into a heightened phase of conflict.