Shloka 178
इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि घटोत्कचवधपर्वणि रात्रियुद्धेबलायुधवधे5ष्टसप्तत्यधिकशततमो< ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi ghaṭotkacavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhe balāyudhavadhe aṣṭasaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Droṇa Parva—specifically in the section on the slaying of Ghaṭotkaca—this concludes the one-hundred-and-seventy-eighth chapter, describing the night-battle and the killing of Balāyudha. The colophon marks the close of a narrative unit, underscoring how the war’s moral order deteriorates further in nocturnal combat, where deception and extraordinary weapons increasingly replace open, dharma-aligned fighting.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the episode’s ethical atmosphere: the shift to night-fighting signals a weakening of conventional dharma in war, where fear, urgency, and extraordinary means begin to dominate over transparent, rule-bound combat.
The line functions as an editorial/narrative closure: it announces that, within the Droṇa Parva and the Ghaṭotkaca-slaying episode, the 178th chapter—centered on the night-battle and the killing of Balāyudha—has ended.