Shloka 238

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि घोषयात्रापर्वणि घोषयात्रामन्त्रणे अष्टात्रिंशदधिकद्विशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi ghoṣayātrāparvaṇi ghoṣayātrāmantraṇe aṣṭātriṃśad-adhika-dviśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

ఇట్లు శ్రీమహాభారత వనపర్వములో ‘ఘోషయాత్రాపర్వ’ అంతర్గతంగా ఘోషయాత్రా-మంత్రణ విషయమైన రెండువందల ముప్పై ఎనిమిదవ అధ్యాయము సమాప్తమైంది—అని వైశంపాయనుడు ప్రకటించాడు.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the revered Mahabharata

वनपर्वणिin the Vana Parva (Forest Book)

घोषयात्रापर्वणिin the Ghoshayatra Parva (section on the cattle-camp journey)

घोषयात्रामन्त्रणेin the consultation about the Ghoshayatra

अष्टात्रिंशत्thirty-eight

अधिकadditional; over and above

द्विशततमःtwo-hundredth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Vana Parva

Ghoṣa-yātrā Parva (episode)

Ghoṣa-yātrā-mantraṇa (deliberation episode)

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

As a colophon, the verse does not teach a new doctrine directly; it highlights the epic’s ethical emphasis that actions arise from prior counsel and intention. By formally closing the ‘deliberation’ unit, it implicitly stresses accountability in planning before undertaking consequential acts.

What is happening in the narrative?

This line is a formal closing statement: it announces that the chapter has concluded within the Vana Parva, in the Ghoṣa-yātrā episode, specifically the section dealing with the planning of the cattle-expedition. It serves as a structural marker rather than a plot event.