Shloka 169
इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि घटोत्कचवधपर्वणि रात्रियुद्धे संकुलयुद्धे एकोनसप्तत्यधिकशततमो< ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi ghaṭotkacavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhe saṅkulayuddhe ekonasaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Droṇa Parvan—specifically in the section on the slaying of Ghaṭotkaca—amid the night-battle and the confused, densely entangled fighting, the one-hundred-and-sixty-ninth chapter comes to an end. This colophon marks the close of a narrative unit that frames the ethical darkness of nocturnal warfare, where order and discernment are strained amid chaos and escalating violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the episode ethically by highlighting 'night-battle' and 'confused melee,' suggesting how warfare can descend into conditions where dharmic clarity is difficult to maintain and moral restraint is tested.
This is the closing marker of the chapter: it states that the 169th chapter ends within the Droṇa Parvan, in the sub-section dealing with Ghaṭotkaca’s death, set amid the night fighting and the chaotic, entangled combat.