Shloka 231

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि देवस्थानवाक्ये एकविंशो5ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi devastānavākye ekaviṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

如是，在《圣摩诃婆罗多》之《寂静篇》（Śānti Parva）中——尤指关于王者职责教诲之部——由天住（Devastāna）所说之语构成的第二十一章至此终了。此结语公式标示一段关于王法（rājadharma，王权之伦理与责任）教导的圆满完成。

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the revered Mahabharata

शान्तिपर्वणिin the Shanti Parva

राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणिin the Parva (section) of instruction on the king's duties

देवस्थानवाक्येin the discourse (called) 'Devastana-vakya'

एकविंशःtwenty-first

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

देवस्थान उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Śānti Parva

Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva

Devastāna

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it signals that the preceding discourse belongs to the rājadharma instruction within Śānti Parva and that Devastāna’s speech (as framed by the edition) concludes here. The ethical focus indicated is governance guided by dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text is formally closing a chapter: it identifies the larger work (Mahābhārata), the book (Śānti Parva), the internal section (Rājadharmānuśāsana), the speaker attribution (Devastāna’s words), and the chapter number (21).