Shloka 84
इति श्रीमहा भारते भीष्मपर्वणि भीष्मवधपर्वणि सप्तमयुद्धदिवसे सुशर्मार्जुनसमागमे चतुरशीतितमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate bhīṣmaparvaṇi bhīṣmavadhaparvaṇi saptamayuddhadivase suśarmārjunasamāgame caturāśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Bhīṣma Parva—specifically in the section concerning the slaying of Bhīṣma—on the seventh day of the great war, at the encounter between Suśarmā and Arjuna, ends the eighty-fourth chapter. This closing colophon situates the narrative in its ethical and historical frame: the war’s escalating intensity, the pivotal movement toward Bhīṣma’s fall, and the focused clash that tests martial duty (kṣātra-dharma) and resolve.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
This verse is a colophon rather than a doctrinal statement; its ethical import lies in framing the action within kṣatriya duty and the inexorable progression of war toward Bhīṣma’s fall. It reminds the reader that individual duels (like Suśarmā vs. Arjuna) occur within a larger moral and narrative arc where vows, loyalties, and battlefield conduct shape outcomes.
The verse marks the end of the eighty-fourth chapter in Bhīṣma Parva, specifying that the events belong to the seventh day of fighting and center on the confrontation between Suśarmā and Arjuna, within the broader episode leading toward the slaying of Bhīṣma.