Shloka 196

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहा भारते द्रोणपर्वणि नारायणास्त्रमोक्षपर्वणि अर्जुनवाक्ये षण्णवत्यधिकशततमो< ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi nārāyaṇāstramokṣaparvaṇi arjunavākye ṣaṇṇavatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

So endet im heiligen Mahābhārata, innerhalb des Droṇa-Parva, im Abschnitt über das Entfesseln der Nārāyaṇa-Waffe, das hundertsechsundneunzigste Kapitel—hier als die Worte Arjunas gekennzeichnet. Dieser kolophonartige Schluss verortet die Episode im größeren Kriegsgeschehen und betont die Schwere göttlicher Waffen sowie die ethische Last, die Krieger tragen, wenn sie solche Mächte gemäß dem Dharma zügeln oder ihnen begegnen müssen.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quotation marker

श्रीauspiciousness; venerable (honorific)

महाभारतेin the Mahābhārata

द्रोणपर्वणिin the Droṇa-parvan

नारायणास्त्रमोक्षपर्वणिin the section (parvan) on the discharge of the Nārāyaṇa-weapon

अर्जुनवाक्येin (the context of) Arjuna's speech

षण्णवत्यधिकशततमःone hundred and ninety-sixth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Droṇa Parva

Nārāyaṇāstra

Arjuna

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?

Even amid total war, the Mahābhārata repeatedly frames the use of extraordinary power—especially divine weapons—as an ethical burden. The colophon reminds the reader that such episodes are not mere spectacle: they test restraint, obedience to dharma, and responsibility for consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

This line is a concluding colophon that closes a chapter within Droṇa Parva, specifically the episode about the release of the Nārāyaṇa weapon, and notes that the chapter’s framing voice here is ‘Arjuna’s words.’ It functions as a textual marker rather than a spoken battlefield verse.