Shloka 260

Daṇḍa, Ahiṃsā, and Proportional Kingship: The Dyumatsena–Satyavān Dialogue (दण्ड-अहिंसा-विवेकः)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि धर्मप्रामाण्याक्षेपे षष्ट्यधिकद्विशततमो<5 ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi mokṣadharmaparvaṇi dharmaprāmāṇyākṣepe ṣaṣṭyadhikadvīśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |

Translation

Như vậy, trong Śrī Mahābhārata, thuộc Śānti Parva—đặc biệt trong phần Mokṣa-dharma—chương thứ hai trăm sáu mươi, bàn về lời phản biện đối với thẩm quyền và tính xác thực của Dharma, đã kết thúc.

Word by Word

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

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the (holy) Mahabharata
• श्रीमहाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

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

• मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि: in the Moksha-dharma section
• मोक्षधर्मपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्षधर्मपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• धर्मप्रामाण्याक्षेपे: in the topic of objection to the authority of dharma
• धर्मप्रामाण्याक्षेपे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मप्रामाण्याक्षेप
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• षष्टि-अधिक-द्विशततमः: two-hundred-sixtieth
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्विशततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Śānti Parva
• Mokṣa-dharma Parva
• Dharma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This colophon signals that the chapter’s focus is a critical examination of dharma’s prāmāṇya—its claim to be authoritative and binding. Ethically, it frames dharma not as a mere custom but as something whose legitimacy can be questioned and defended through reasoned inquiry.

What is happening in the narrative?

The verse is a concluding colophon marking the end of a chapter in the Mokṣa-dharma portion of the Śānti Parva. It does not advance the plot directly; rather, it formally closes the discussion on an objection regarding the authority of dharma.