Shloka 195
भीष्म-द्रोणादिभिः पाण्डवसेनाक्षयकाल-निर्णयः | Time-estimates for the depletion of the Pāṇḍava forces
Bhīṣma–Droṇa council
इति श्रीमहा भारते उद्योगपर्वणि अम्बोपाख्यानपर्वणि कौरवसैन्यनिर्याणे पज्चनवत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi ambopākhyānaparvaṇi kauravasainyaniryāṇe pañcanavatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Así concluye, en el venerado Mahābhārata, dentro del Udyoga Parva, en la sección llamada Ambā-upākhyāna, el capítulo relativo a la partida/marcha del ejército de los Kauravas: el capítulo ciento noventa y cinco. Este colofón señala un giro del relato: las tensiones éticas del poema pasan del consejo y el precedente (upākhyāna) a la movilización concreta para la guerra, anunciando el endurecimiento de las decisiones y el estrechamiento de las vías de paz.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; its ethical force lies in framing: after exempla and counsel, the narrative turns to mobilization. It underscores how unresolved adharma and failed reconciliation culminate in irreversible action—war preparations—highlighting responsibility for choices made (or refused) before conflict becomes inevitable.
The text is closing a chapter/section: within Udyoga Parva, in the Ambā episode context, it marks the chapter themed around the Kauravas’ army setting out. Functionally, it signals a transition from story and deliberation to the practical movement of forces toward the coming war.