Shloka 97
भीष्मरक्षण-प्रकरणम् / The Protective Screen around Bhīṣma and the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Clash
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत भीष्मपर्वके अन्तर्गत भीष्यवधपर्वमें भीष्मके प्रति दुर्योधनका वचनविषयक सत्तानबेवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārate bhīṣmaparvake antargataṁ bhīṣmavadhaparvaṇi bhīṣmaṁ prati duryodhanasya vacanaviṣayakaḥ saptānavatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ abhavat.
Thus ends the ninety-seventh chapter of the Bhīṣma Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the section concerning the slaying (or fall) of Bhīṣma—specifically, the chapter dealing with Duryodhana’s words addressed to Bhīṣma. The narrative marks a formal closure, underscoring the moral tension of the war: a king’s demand and reproach directed toward an elder bound by duty, even as the battlefield presses toward Bhīṣma’s destined downfall.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the line does not teach through direct instruction but frames the ethical pressure of the epic: Duryodhana’s demands toward Bhīṣma highlight how power can attempt to compel elders and teachers, while Bhīṣma’s position embodies the complexity of dharma—duty, loyalty, and conscience under the strain of war.
This is a formal closing statement indicating that a chapter has ended—specifically, the ninety-seventh chapter dealing with Duryodhana’s words addressed to Bhīṣma, within the Bhīṣma Parva and the subsection focused on Bhīṣma’s impending fall.