Shloka 187

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीम्याभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वनें मत्स्योपाख्यानविषयक एक सौ सतासीवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti prakāraḥ śrīmahābhārata-vanaparvaṇi antargata-mārkaṇḍeya-samāsyāparvaṇā matsyopākhyāna-viṣayaka ekaśata-saptāśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ samāptaḥ

Translation

至此，《圣摩诃婆罗多》林书（Vana Parva）之“马尔坎德耶问答分章”（Markandeya Samasya Parvan）中，“摩蹉传”（Matsya-upākhyāna，摩蹉王事）第一百八十七章告终。此结尾题记表明所叙之教诲篇章已圆满结束，并将其置于“林书”宏阔脉络之中。

Word by Word

इतिthus

प्रकारेणin the manner/way

श्रीमहाभारतेin the Śrī Mahābhārata

वनपर्वणिin the Vana-parvan

अन्तर्गतेincluded/contained (in)

मार्कण्डेयसमास्यापर्वणिin the Mārkaṇḍeya-samāsya-parvan (section)

मत्स्योपाख्यानविषयकःconcerning the Matsya-upākhyāna

एकशतसप्ताशीतितमःone hundred eighty-seventh

अध्यायःchapter

समाप्तःcompleted/ended

अभवत्was/became

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Vana Parva

Mārkaṇḍeya

Matsyopākhyāna

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 functions as a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it teaches how the Mahābhārata is organized into parvas and embedded episodes, marking the completion of a narrative unit (the Matsya-upākhyāna) within the Vana Parva.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator’s section is being formally closed: the text announces that the 187th chapter on the Matsya episode, situated within the Markandeya-related sub-parvan of the Vana Parva, has ended.