Shloka 161
Droṇavadha-saṃniveśaḥ — The Convergence Toward Droṇa’s Fall
Book 7, Chapter 164
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ााभारत द्रोणपर्वके अन्तर्गत घटोत्कचवधपर्वमें यात्रियुद्धके अवसरपर संकुलयुद्धविषयक एक सौ इकसठवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraḥ śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvake antargata ghaṭotkacavadhaparvaṇi yātriyuddhasya avasare saṅkulayuddhaviṣayaka ekaśata-ekaṣaṣṭitamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Thus ends the one hundred and sixty-first chapter of the Drona Parva in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the section on the slaying of Ghaṭotkaca, describing the confused and densely entangled fighting that arose on the occasion of the night-battle. The colophon marks the close of this unit, emphasizing the moral gravity of warfare when order collapses into chaos and combat becomes indiscriminate.
संयज उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the passage does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the episode ethically by highlighting how war can devolve into saṅkula (confused, entangled) fighting—an implicit warning that when order and discernment collapse, violence becomes morally perilous and indiscriminate.
This is the closing notice for the chapter: it states that the 161st chapter, dealing with the theme of chaotic fighting during the night-battle and situated within the Ghaṭotkaca-slaying section of the Drona Parva, has concluded.