Shloka 49
Asita Devala Observes Jaigīṣavya’s Yogic Attainment and Chooses Mokṣa-dharma (देवल-जैगीषव्योपाख्यानम्)
इति श्रीमहाभारते शल्यपर्वणि गदापर्वणि बलदेवतीर्थयात्रायां सारस्वतोपाख्याने एकोनपज्चाशत्तमो<5 ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ााभारत शल्यपर्वके अन्तर्गत गदापर्वरमें बलदेवजीकी तीर्थयात्राके प्रसंगमें सारस्वतोपाख्यानविषयक उनचासवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti śrīmahābhārate śalyaparvaṇi gadāparvaṇi baladevatīrthayātrāyāṃ sārasvatopākhyāne ekonapañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ |
至此，《圣摩诃婆罗多》之《沙利耶篇》——“伽陀品”中——在巴拉罗摩巡礼诸圣渡口的叙事脉络里，第四十九章告终，并圆满结束所谓“萨拉斯瓦塔传说”。此章末题记昭示一段故事的正式收束，使叙事重回大战的宏大道德视野。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse itself teaches by framing: it marks the completion of an instructive upākhyāna within the war-book, implicitly contrasting the purifying disciplines of pilgrimage, learning, and restraint with the destructive momentum of conflict. The ethical reminder is that dharma is preserved not only through victory but through self-control, reverence for sacred tradition, and the guidance of exemplary narratives.
Vaiśaṃpāyana signals the formal end of Adhyāya 49 in the Śalya Parva, specifically within the Gadā-parvan and the episode of Balarāma’s tīrtha-yātrā, concluding the Sārasvata Upākhyāna. It functions as a structural marker that closes the embedded tale and prepares the text to move onward in the larger Śalya Parva narrative.