Shloka 167
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि निवातकवचयुद्धपर्वणि गन्धमादनवासे युधिष्ठटिरार्जुनसंवादे सप्तषष्ट्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi nivātakavacayuddhaparvaṇi gandhamādanavāse yudhiṣṭhirārjunasaṃvāde saptaṣaṣṭyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Vana Parva—specifically in the section concerning the battle with the Nivātakavacas—during the Pāṇḍavas’ stay at Gandhamādana, in the dialogue between Yudhiṣṭhira and Arjuna, ends the one-hundred-and-sixty-seventh chapter. (This is a colophon marking the close of the chapter rather than a spoken verse.)
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
This line is not a teaching verse but a colophon: it situates the chapter within the Mahābhārata’s larger architecture (parva, sub-parva, setting, and interlocutors), reminding readers that ethical reflection and narrative action are framed through carefully organized dialogues and contexts.
The text is marking the end of a chapter set during the Pāṇḍavas’ stay at Gandhamādana, within the portion connected to the Nivātakavacas episode, and presented as part of a dialogue between Yudhiṣṭhira and Arjuna.