Shloka 156
अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः
Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत द्रोणपर्वके अन्तर्गत घटोत्कचवधपर्वमें रात्रियुद्धविषयक एक सौ छप्पनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,स पपात हतः पृथ्व्यां वज्जाहत इवाद्रिराट् । पाए्डुपुत्र भीमसेनद्वारा चलायी हुई उस गदाने बाह्नलीकका सिर उड़ा दिया। वे वज्रके मारे हुए पर्वतराजकी भाँति मरकर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
sañjaya uvāca | sa papāta hataḥ pṛthivyāṃ vajrāhata ivādrirāṭ | pāṇḍuputra-bhīmasena-dvārā calāyitayā tayā gadayā bāhlīkasya śiraś chinnaṃ | sa vajra-hata iva parvata-rājaḥ mṛtvā pṛthivyāṃ nipapāta | iti śrīmahābhārate droṇa-parvaṇi antar-gata ghaṭotkaca-vadha-parvaṇi rātri-yuddha-viṣayakaḥ ṣaṭpañcāśad-uttara-śata-tamo 'dhyāyaḥ samāptaḥ |
Sañjaya said: Struck down, he fell upon the earth like a mountain-king shattered by Indra’s thunderbolt. The mace hurled by Bhīmasena, son of Pāṇḍu, severed Bāhlīka’s head; and, like a great peak felled by a lightning stroke, he died and collapsed to the ground. Thus ends the one-hundred-and-fifty-sixth chapter on the night-battle, within the Ghaṭotkaca-slaying section of the Droṇa Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the stark moral gravity of war: even mighty kings fall suddenly, and martial prowess brings irreversible consequences. The thunderbolt-and-mountain simile highlights impermanence and the crushing finality of violence, inviting reflection on dharma under extreme conditions like night warfare.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma hurls his mace, which severs Bāhlīka’s head. Bāhlīka dies and falls to the earth like a mountain struck by a thunderbolt. The chapter colophon then notes the completion of the 156th chapter on the night-battle within the Ghaṭotkaca-slaying section of Droṇa Parva.