Shloka 18
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत भीष्मपर्वके श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतापवके अन्तर्गत ब्रह्मविद्या एवं योगशास्त्ररूप श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतोपनिषद् श्रीकृष्णार्जुन-संवादमें मोक्षसंन्यासयोग नामक अठारहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,नकुल उवाच एवं गते त्वयि ज्येछे मम भ्रातरि भारत | भीर्मे दुनोति हृदयं ब्रूहि गनता भवान् क्व नु नकुलने पूछा--भारत! आप मेरे बड़े भाई हैं। आपके इस प्रकार शत्रुसेनाकी ओर चल देनेपर भारी भय मेरे हृदयको पीड़ित कर रहा है। बताइये, आप कहाँ जायूँगे?
Iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārate bhīṣmaparvaṇi śrīmadbhagavadgītāparvaṇi antar-gataṁ brahmavidyā evaṁ yogaśāstrarūpaṁ śrīmadbhagavadgītopaniṣat śrīkṛṣṇārjuna-saṁvāde mokṣasaṁnyāsayoga-nāmakaḥ aṣṭādaśo ’dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ. Nakula uvāca: gate tvayi jyeṣṭhe mama bhrātari bhārata | bhīr me dunoti hṛdayaṁ brūhi gantā bhavān kva nu ||
Sañjaya said: Thus, within the Mahābhārata’s Bhīṣma Parva—within the section known as the Bhagavad Gītā—ends the Upaniṣad called the Bhagavad Gītā, a teaching of Brahma-knowledge and the discipline of Yoga, in the dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna; the eighteenth chapter, named ‘Yoga of Liberation through Renunciation,’ is complete. Nakula said: “O Bhārata, you are my eldest brother. As you go forth in this manner toward the enemy host, a great fear torments my heart. Tell me—where indeed are you going?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage functions mainly as a formal colophon: it frames the Bhagavad Gītā as an Upaniṣadic teaching of brahma-knowledge and yoga, culminating in the chapter on mokṣa through saṁnyāsa—i.e., liberation grounded in inner renunciation and disciplined action rather than mere external withdrawal.
After the Gītā’s formal conclusion, the scene shifts to a battlefield-context exchange: Nakula, anxious and shaken, addresses his eldest brother (jyeṣṭha) and asks where he is going as he moves toward the enemy forces, expressing the fear that grips his heart.