Shloka 184

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि द्रोणवधपर्वणि रात्रियुद्धे सैन्यनिद्रायां चतुरशीत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi droṇavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhe sainyanidrāyāṃ caturaśītyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Ainsi, dans le Śrī Mahābhārata, au sein du Droṇa Parva —plus précisément dans la section sur la mise à mort de Droṇa— s’achève le cent quatre-vingt-quatrième chapitre, relatif au combat nocturne et au sommeil de l’armée.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the holy Mahabharata

द्रोणपर्वणिin the Drona Parva

द्रोणवधपर्वणिin the (sub-)section called 'the Parva of Drona's slaying'

रात्रियुद्धेin the night-battle

सैन्यनिद्रायाम्in (the episode of) the army's sleep

चतुरशीत्यधिकशततमःthe one-hundred-and-eighty-fourth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Droṇa Parva

Droṇa-vadha (Droṇa’s slaying)

rātriyuddha (night-battle)

sainya (army)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the ethical atmosphere of war by highlighting a shift from combat to sleep—reminding that human limits (fatigue, lowered vigilance) shape outcomes and can open the door to grave consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text formally closes a chapter in the Droṇa Parva, within the Droṇa-vadha section, identifying its subject as the night-battle and the army’s sleep—marking the end of that episode and preparing the reader for what follows.