Shloka 184

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि द्रोणवधपर्वणि रात्रियुद्धे सैन्यनिद्रायां चतुरशीत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi droṇavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhe sainyanidrāyāṃ caturaśītyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Droṇa Parva—specifically in the section on the slaying of Droṇa—this concludes the one-hundred-and-eighty-fourth chapter, concerning the night-battle and the army’s sleep. The colophon signals a transition in the narrative: after the intensity of nocturnal warfare, the text marks the moment when exhaustion and vulnerability overtake the forces, foreshadowing the ethical and strategic consequences that arise when vigilance fails amid war.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the holy Mahabharata

द्रोणपर्वणिin the Drona Parva

द्रोणवधपर्वणिin the (sub-)section called 'the Parva of Drona's slaying'

रात्रियुद्धेin the night-battle

सैन्यनिद्रायाम्in (the episode of) the army's sleep

चतुरशीत्यधिकशततमःthe one-hundred-and-eighty-fourth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Droṇa Parva

Droṇa-vadha (Droṇa’s slaying)

rātriyuddha (night-battle)

sainya (army)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the ethical atmosphere of war by highlighting a shift from combat to sleep—reminding that human limits (fatigue, lowered vigilance) shape outcomes and can open the door to grave consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text formally closes a chapter in the Droṇa Parva, within the Droṇa-vadha section, identifying its subject as the night-battle and the army’s sleep—marking the end of that episode and preparing the reader for what follows.