Shloka 171

भीष्म–दुर्योधनसंवादः — शिखण्डिनं न हन्तुं कारणकथनम्

Amba-ākhyāna prologue

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि रथातिरथसंख्यानपर्वणि एकसप्तत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi rathātirathasaṅkhyānaparvaṇi ekasaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Ainsi, dans le Śrī Mahābhārata, au sein de l’Udyoga Parva, dans la section consacrée à l’énumération des guerriers de char et des grands guerriers de char (atiratha), s’achève le cent soixante-onzième chapitre. Ce colophon marque la clôture d’une unité de récit et situe l’exposé dans les préparatifs éthiques et stratégiques de la guerre imminente.

Word by Word

• इति: thus; so (end-quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्रीमहाभारते: in the venerable Mahabharata
• श्रीमहाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमहाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• उद्योगपर्वणि: in the Udyoga-parvan
• उद्योगपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: उद्योगपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• रथातिरथसंख्यानपर्वणि: in the section (parvan) on the enumeration of rathas and atirathas
• रथातिरथसंख्यानपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथातिरथसंख्यानपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• एकसप्तत्यधिकशततमः: the one-hundred-and-seventy-first
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकसप्तत्यधिकशततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Udyoga Parva
• Rathātiratha-saṅkhyāna-parvan
• Adhyāya (chapter)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This verse is a structural colophon rather than a doctrinal statement; its implicit lesson is contextual: the epic carefully frames ethical conflict by first assessing forces and capacities, reminding readers that war is approached with deliberation, accountability, and awareness of consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text signals the conclusion of a chapter within Udyoga Parva, specifically in the subsection that enumerates chariot-warriors and great chariot-warriors—part of the broader preparations and strategic assessments preceding the Kurukṣetra war.