Shloka 51

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहा भारते भीष्मपर्वणि भीष्मवधपर्वणि कौरवव्यूहरचनायामेकपज्चाशत्तमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate bhīṣmaparvaṇi bhīṣmavadhaparvaṇi kauravavyūharacanāyām ekapañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ ശ്രീമഹാഭാരതത്തിലെ ഭീഷ്മപർവത്തിൽ, ഭീഷ്മവധപർവത്തിനകത്ത്, കൗരവവ്യൂഹ-രചനയെ സംബന്ധിക്കുന്ന അമ്പത്തൊന്നാം അധ്യായം സമാപ്തമായി.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीauspiciousness; revered (honorific)

महाin the great (work)

भारतेin the Bhārata (Mahābhārata)

भीष्मपर्वणिin the Bhīṣma-parvan

भीष्मवधपर्वणिin the section (parvan) on the slaying of Bhīṣma

कौरवव्यूहरचनायाम्in the arrangement of the Kaurava battle-formation

एकपञ्चाशत्तमःfifty-first

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

(संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Bhīṣma

Kauravas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

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 weight of the war narrative by formally marking the episode: the deliberate organization of violence (vyūha-racanā) and the impending fall of Bhīṣma, a figure associated with duty, vows, and tragic righteousness.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is an end-of-chapter marker stating that the account has reached the conclusion of a chapter within Bhīṣma Parva, specifically in the portion dealing with Bhīṣma’s fall and the description of the Kauravas’ battle-array. It signals closure of one unit of narration and prepares the listener/reader for the next development.