Shloka 178
इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि घटोत्कचवधपर्वणि रात्रियुद्धेबलायुधवधे5ष्टसप्तत्यधिकशततमो< ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi ghaṭotkacavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhe balāyudhavadhe aṣṭasaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
かくして『聖なるマハーバーラタ』の『ドローナ・パルヴァ』、とりわけ『ガトートカチャ討伐章』において、夜戦とバラーユダの討滅を述べる第百七十八章はここに終わる。この章末は一つの叙述単位の閉幕を告げ、夜の戦いにおいては欺きと異能の武器が、ダルマにかなう正々堂々の戦いに代わっていよいよ前面に出て、戦の道徳秩序がさらに崩れてゆくことを示している。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the episode’s ethical atmosphere: the shift to night-fighting signals a weakening of conventional dharma in war, where fear, urgency, and extraordinary means begin to dominate over transparent, rule-bound combat.
The line functions as an editorial/narrative closure: it announces that, within the Droṇa Parva and the Ghaṭotkaca-slaying episode, the 178th chapter—centered on the night-battle and the killing of Balāyudha—has ended.