Shloka 174
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्माभारत द्रोणपर्वके अन्तर्गत घटोत्कचवधपर्वमें रात्रियुद्धके प्रसंगमें अलगम्बुषवधविषयक एक सौ चौहत्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraḥ śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvake antargata ghaṭotkacavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhaprasaṅge alagambuṣavadhaviṣayaka ekaśatacatuḥsaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Sanjaya concludes: Thus, in the revered Mahabharata, within the Drona Parva—specifically in the section on the slaying of Ghaṭotkaca—during the episode of the night-battle, the one-hundred-and-seventy-fourth chapter, dealing with the slaying of Alagambuṣa, is completed. The colophon frames the narrative amid the moral and strategic turbulence of nocturnal warfare, where ordinary conventions of battle break down and questions of duty, restraint, and necessity grow more severe.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon rather than a didactic verse, it teaches structurally: the epic frames violent events within named episodes, reminding the reader that war—especially night-fighting—tests dharma and restraint, and that each act (such as a slaying) is to be understood in its narrative and ethical context.
Sañjaya signals the completion of a chapter in the Droṇa Parva: within the Ghaṭotkaca-slaying section and the broader night-battle context, the chapter whose subject is the slaying of Alagambuṣa has ended.