Shloka 254
Jājali’s Austerities and the Summons to Tulādhāra (जाजलि–तुलाधार-इतिहासः)
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि शुकानुप्रश्ने चतुष्पठ्चाशदधिकद्विशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi śukānupraśne catuṣpañcāśad-adhika-dviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
இவ்வாறு ஸ்ரீமஹாபாரதத்தின் சாந்திபர்வத்தில், மோக்ஷதர்மப் பகுதியில், ‘சுகானுப்ரஷ்னம்’ எனும் இருநூற்று ஐம்பத்துநான்காம் (254ஆம்) அத்தியாயம் நிறைவுற்றது.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse; it primarily signals the textual location and closure of a chapter within the Mokṣa-dharma portion of the Śānti Parva, framing the surrounding teachings as part of Śuka’s inquiry into liberation-oriented dharma.
The narration pauses to mark the end of a chapter: it identifies the work (Mahābhārata), the larger book (Śānti Parva), the subsection (Mokṣa-dharma), and the thematic setting (Śuka’s questioning), and then states the chapter count as the 254th.