Shloka 173
Bhīmasena’s Himalayan Hunt and Seizure by the Ajagara (भीमसेनस्य अजगरग्रहणम्)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत निवातकवचयुद्धपर्वमें हिरण्यपुरवासी दैत्योंके वधसे सम्बन्ध रखनेवाला एक सौ तिहतत्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Iti prakāraṃ Śrīmahābhārata-Vana-parvaṇi antargate Nivātakavaca-yuddha-parvaṇi Hiraṇyapura-vāsī daityānāṃ vadhasambandhaṃ rakṣamāṇaḥ ekaśata-trisaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ.
Thus ends the one-hundred-and-seventy-third chapter of the Vana Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the section on the battle with the Nivātakavacas, concerning the slaying of the Daityas who dwelt in Hiraṇyapura.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the line does not present a direct moral aphorism; its implied ethical frame is that the defeat of destructive, adharma-aligned forces (here, Daityas associated with Hiraṇyapura and the Nivātakavacas) serves the restoration of order. It signals that violence in the epic is narrated as legitimate when aligned with a larger dharmic purpose and sanctioned within the story’s cosmic hierarchy.
This is the formal closing statement for the chapter: it announces that the 173rd chapter within Vana Parva—under the sub-section dealing with the battle against the Nivātakavacas—has concluded, specifically the portion connected with the slaying of the Daityas who lived in Hiraṇyapura.