Shloka 177
इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि घटोत्कचवधपर्वणि रात्रियुद्धेडलायु धयुद्धे सप्तसप्तत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi ghaṭotkacavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhe ḍalāyudhayuddhe saptasaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Ainsi, dans le Śrī Mahābhārata, au sein du Droṇa Parva—plus précisément dans la section consacrée à la mise à mort de Ghaṭotkacha—lors de la bataille nocturne et de l’affrontement impliquant Ḍalāyudha, s’achève le cent soixante-dix-septième chapitre. Ce colophon marque la clôture d’une unité narrative, soulignant le poids moral sombre de la guerre de nuit et les conséquences culminantes de la mort de Ghaṭotkacha sur le cours de la guerre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
This verse is a colophon rather than a doctrinal statement: it frames the episode’s ethical gravity by formally closing a chapter set in night warfare and the slaying of Ghaṭotkaca—events that intensify the war’s moral ambiguity and highlight how strategic necessity and adharma-like methods can escalate suffering and retaliation.
The text signals the end of a chapter within Droṇa Parva, in the sub-section describing Ghaṭotkaca’s death, situated amid the night-battle and an encounter labeled with Ḍalāyudha. It functions as an editorial boundary marking the completion of that narrative unit.