Shloka 78
भीष्मवधाय प्रयाणम् — The Advance toward Bhīṣma and Counter-Engagements
इति श्रीमहाभारते भीष्मपर्वणि भीष्मवधपर्वणि संकुलयुद्धे अष्टसप्ततितमो<5ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate bhīṣmaparvaṇi bhīṣmavadhaparvaṇi saṅkulayuddhe aṣṭasaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Bhīṣma Parva—specifically in the section concerning the slaying (downfall) of Bhīṣma—this concludes the seventy-eighth chapter describing the confused and densely entangled battle. The colophon frames the narrative as part of the larger moral tragedy of war, where even the fall of a great elder like Bhīṣma becomes a pivotal turning point in the struggle over dharma and rightful order.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the episode ethically by marking the battle as ‘saṅkula’ (confused and entangled) and situating Bhīṣma’s downfall as a decisive moment in the war where questions of duty, loyalty, and righteous order intensify.
This is the chapter-ending colophon: it signals the close of the seventy-eighth chapter within Bhīṣma Parva, in the sub-section dealing with Bhīṣma’s being brought down, and characterizes the events as a chaotic melee (saṅkula-yuddha).