Shloka 157

नृशंस-लक्षणनिर्णयः | Determining the Marks of Cruel Conduct

Nṛśaṃsa

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि आपद्धर्मपर्वणि पवनशाल्मलिसंवादे सप्तपञठ्चाशदधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi āpaddharmaparvaṇi pavaṇaśālmalisaṃvāde saptapañcāśad-adhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Như vậy, chương thứ một trăm năm mươi bảy trong Śānti Parva của Śrī Mahābhārata—thuộc phần Āpaddharma, trong cuộc đối thoại giữa Pavana (Thần Gió) và cây Śālmalī—đã chấm dứt. Lời kết này đánh dấu sự khép lại của đoạn giáo huấn, đồng thời đặt nó trong mạch chỉ dạy rộng lớn của Bhīṣma về dharma giữa nghịch cảnh.

Word by Word

• इति: thus; end-quote marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the venerable Mahabharata
• श्रीमहाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमहाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शान्तिपर्वणि: in the Shanti Parva
• शान्तिपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शान्तिपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• आपद्धर्मपर्वणि: in the Apaddharma section
• आपद्धर्मपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आपद्धर्मपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• पवनशाल्मलिसंवादे: in the dialogue of Pavana and Shalmali
• पवनशाल्मलिसंवादे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पवनशाल्मलिसंवाद
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• सप्तपञ्चाशत्: fifty-seven
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्तपञ्चाशत्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• अधिक: over; plus
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिक
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• शततमः: one-hundredth
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Śānti Parva
• Āpaddharma (Āpaddharmaparva)
• Pavana (Wind/Vāyu)
• Śālmali (tree)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it frames the teaching as part of Āpaddharma—ethical conduct under crisis—delivered through the Pavana–Śālmali dialogue within Bhīṣma’s instruction. Its function is to locate and conclude the episode, emphasizing the Mahābhārata’s method of embedding dharma-teachings in illustrative dialogues.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text signals the end of a chapter: the Pavana (Wind) and Śālmali (tree) dialogue has concluded, and the compiler’s closing formula identifies the work (Mahābhārata), the book (Śānti Parva), the subsection (Āpaddharma), and the chapter number (157th).