Shloka 166
भीमसेन-धृष्टद्युम्नयोर्वाक्यं
Bhīmasena and Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s Speeches on Kṣātra-Dharma
इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि घटोत्कचवधपर्वणि रात्रियुद्धे दुर्योधनापयाने षट्षष्ट्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi ghaṭotkacavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhe duryodhanāpayāne ṣaṭṣaṣṭyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि घटोत्कचवधपर्वणि रात्रियुद्धे दुर्योधनापयाने षट्षष्ट्यधिकशततमोऽध्यायः।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the moral landscape of the narrative. By highlighting the night-battle and Duryodhana’s withdrawal after the Ghaṭotkaca episode, it underscores how war pressures dharma—pushing combat beyond customary restraints—and how strategic choices (like retreat) arise from the heavy costs of violence.
This is the chapter-ending marker: Sañjaya signals that the account has reached the end of the 166th chapter within the Droṇa Parva, in the episode of Ghaṭotkaca’s slaying, set amid the night-fighting, and touching on Duryodhana’s withdrawal.