Shloka 171
Śiva’s Battlefield Manifestation and Vyāsa’s Śatarudrīya Exposition (शिवप्रादुर्भावः शतरुद्रीयव्याख्यानम्)
इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि घटोत्कचवधपर्वणि रात्रियुद्धे संकुलयुद्धे एकसप्तत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi ghaṭotkacavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhe saṅkulayuddhe ekasaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Droṇa Parva—specifically in the section on the slaying of Ghaṭotkaca—here ends the one-hundred-and-seventy-first chapter, describing the night-battle and the confused, densely entangled fighting. This colophon marks a turning point in the tale: after the dharmic strain of warfare in darkness and the tumult of chaotic combat, the text formally closes the chapter, underscoring how war’s disorder grows fiercer when waged in night and frenzy.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the ethical atmosphere of the episode: night-fighting and ‘saṅkula’ (confused, intermingled) combat magnify the loss of clarity and restraint that dharma requires. The formal closure highlights how the narrative itself recognizes the escalation of disorder in war.
This is the chapter-ending colophon: it announces that the 171st chapter has concluded within the Droṇa Parva, in the sub-section dealing with the slaying of Ghaṭotkaca, and that the chapter’s subject matter is the night-battle and the chaotic, entangled fighting.