Shloka 87
इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि जयद्रथवधपर्वणि कौरवव्यूहनिर्माणे सप्ताशीतितमो<5ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi jayadrathavadhaparvaṇi kauravavyūhanirmāṇe saptāśītitamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Thus ends the eighty-seventh chapter in the Droṇa Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the section concerning the slaying of Jayadratha, describing the formation and arrangement of the Kauravas’ battle formation. The colophon marks a transition in the narrative, emphasizing the strategic organization of war that frames the moral and human consequences of the coming confrontation.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; it highlights how war is driven not only by valor but by deliberate organization and strategy. Ethically, it frames the coming events as consequences of planned collective action, reminding the reader that responsibility in war extends beyond individual fighters to commanders and formations.
The text is closing a chapter: it signals that the account has reached the end of the eighty-seventh chapter within the Droṇa Parva, specifically in the Jayadratha-slaying section, and that this chapter concerned the Kauravas’ arrangement of a battle formation (vyūha).