Shloka 171
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्माभारत द्रोणपर्वके अन्तर्गत घटोत्कचवधपर्वमें रात्रियुद्धके प्रसंगमें संकुलयुद्धविषयक एक सौ इकहत्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Iti prakāraṃ Śrīmahābhārate Droṇaparvaṇi antargate Ghaṭotkacavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhaprasaṅge saṅkulayuddhaviṣayaka ekaśataikāsaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ.
Sañjaya said: Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Droṇa Parva—specifically in the section on the slaying of Ghaṭotkaca—during the episode of the night-battle, the one-hundred-and-seventy-first chapter, dealing with the confusion and crush of close combat, is concluded. The colophon marks a turning point where warfare continues beyond daylight, underscoring the moral strain and escalating disorder that night fighting brings.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction but signals a moral and narrative intensification: the shift to night fighting highlights how war can erode clarity and restraint, producing saṅkula (confusion and congestion) where ethical discernment becomes harder to maintain.
Sañjaya closes the chapter by stating that the 171st adhyāya—set in the context of the night battle and the Ghaṭotkaca-slaying episode within Droṇa Parva—has ended. It functions as an editorial/narrative marker of section and chapter completion.