Shloka 51

Bhīṣma’s Hymn to Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa’s Criteria for Divine Self-Disclosure

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि कृष्णवाक्ये एकपज्चाशत्तमो5ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi kṛṣṇavākye ekapañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

如是，在《圣摩诃婆罗多》之《寂静篇》（Śānti Parva）中，尤以“王法训诫”之部，题为“克里希那之言”的第五十一章至此终了。此为章末题记，标示一段关于正当治国与伦理法则之教诲的闭合。

Word by Word

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

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the revered 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

• राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि: in the section (parva) of instruction on royal duty
• राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• कृष्णवाक्ये: in (the portion called) 'Krishna's speech'
• कृष्णवाक्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्णवाक्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• एकपञ्चाशत्तमः: the fifty-first
• एकपञ्चाशत्तमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकपञ्चाशत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mahābhārata
• Śānti Parva
• Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva
• Kṛṣṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This line is a colophon rather than a teaching verse: it signals that the chapter belongs to the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma (ethical kingship) and that the discourse is attributed to Kṛṣṇa, framing the preceding material as guidance on righteous rule.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text is closing a chapter: it formally marks the end of the fifty-first adhyāya within the Śānti Parva, in the rājadharma-instruction section, identifying the unit as ‘Kṛṣṇa’s speech.’