Shloka 174
इति श्रीमहा भारते द्रोणपर्वणि घटोत्कचवधपर्वणि रात्रियुद्धे अलम्बुषवधे चतु:सप्तत्यधिकशततमो<थध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi ghaṭotkacavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhe alambuṣavadhe catuḥsaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Droṇa Parva—specifically in the section on the slaying of Ghaṭotkaca—this concludes the one-hundred-and-seventy-sixth chapter, concerning the night-battle and the killing of Alambuṣa. The colophon marks a transition in the war narrative, underscoring how the conflict has moved into morally fraught nocturnal combat, where extraordinary beings and unconventional tactics intensify the ethical strain of warfare.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the line does not teach through direct instruction; instead it frames the ethical atmosphere of the narrative: the war has entered night-fighting, a setting traditionally viewed as more disorderly and morally precarious, highlighting how adharma can spread when boundaries of time, method, and restraint erode.
The verse is an end-of-chapter marker stating that this is the 176th chapter of the Droṇa Parva, within the Ghaṭotkaca-slaying section, and that the chapter’s focus is the night-battle and the slaying of Alambuṣa.