Shloka 74

भीष्मस्य मण्डलव्यूहः — Bhīṣma’s Maṇḍala Battle-Formation and the Opening Engagements

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते भीष्मपर्वणि भीष्मवधपर्वणि पञठचमदिवसावहारे चतु:सप्ततितमोध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate bhīṣmaparvaṇi bhīṣmavadhaparvaṇi pañcamadivasāvahāre catuḥsaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Demikianlah, dalam Śrī Mahābhārata, pada Bhīṣma Parva—di bagian tentang gugurnya Bhīṣma—dalam uraian hari kelima pertempuran, berakhirlah bab ke-74.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the revered Mahābhārata

भीष्मपर्वणिin the Bhīṣma-parvan

भीष्मवधपर्वणिin the section (parvan) on the slaying of Bhīṣma

पञ्चमदिवसावहारेin the account/recital of the fifth day

चतु:सप्ततितमseventy-fourth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Bhīṣma Parva

Bhīṣma-vadha-parvan (section/episode)

fifth day (of the Kurukṣetra war)

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?

This line functions as a colophon rather than a doctrinal verse: it teaches how the epic frames moral history—events are carefully located within parva, sub-episode, and battle-day, underscoring that ethical reflection in the Mahābhārata is inseparable from narrative context.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text is closing a chapter: it states that the seventy-fourth chapter ends within the Bhīṣma Parva, in the Bhīṣma-vadha episode, during the narration of the fifth day of the Kurukṣetra war.