Adhyāya 177: Pañca-mahābhūta-vicāra and Vṛkṣa-jīva-lakṣaṇa
Five Elements Inquiry and the Status of Plant Life
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि शम्पाकगीतायां षट्सप्तत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi śampākagītāyāṃ ṣaṭsaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Sa gayon, sa kagalang-galang na Mahābhārata, sa loob ng Śānti Parva—lalo na sa bahaging Mokṣa-dharma—nagtatapos ang Śampāka-gītā, ang ika-isang daan at pitumpu’t pitong kabanata. Ito ang pangwakas na kolofon na nagmamarka sa pagwawakas ng isang aral tungkol sa dharmang nakatuon sa paglaya, sa pagtuturo ni Bhīṣma.
भीष्म उवाच
This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it signals the completion of the Śampāka-gītā within the Mokṣa-dharma portion of Śānti Parva, framing the preceding material as instruction oriented toward liberation (mokṣa) and higher dharma.
The text is closing a chapter and a named discourse. In the broader Śānti Parva setting, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira; here the redactor’s closing formula marks the end of chapter 177 (as counted in this tradition) within Mokṣa-dharma.