Shloka 169

नारायणास्त्र-शमनं द्रौणि-प्रहारश्च

Pacification of the Nārāyaṇāstra and Drauni’s Renewed Assault

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि घटोत्कचवधपर्वणि रात्रियुद्धे संकुलयुद्धे एकोनसप्तत्यधिकशततमो< ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi ghaṭotkacavadhaparvaṇi rātriyuddhe saṅkulayuddhe ekonasaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

ఇట్లు శ్రీమహాభారత ద్రోణపర్వములో, ఘటోత్కచవధపర్వాంతర్గతంగా, రాత్రియుద్ధములో సంఖుల (అత్యంత గందరగోళ) యుద్ధవర్ణనలో నూట అరవై తొమ్మిదవ అధ్యాయం సమాప్తమైంది.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the Śrī-Mahābhārata

द्रोणपर्वणिin the Droṇa-parvan

घटोत्कचवधपर्वणिin the section (parvan) on the slaying of Ghaṭotkaca

रात्रियुद्धेin the night-battle

संकुलयुद्धेin the confused/chaotic battle

एकोनसप्तत्यधिकशततमःthe one-hundred-and-sixty-ninth (chapter)

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Droṇa Parvan

Ghaṭotkaca

Ghaṭotkaca-vadha-parvan

rātri-yuddha (night battle)

saṅkula-yuddha (confused melee)

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 episode ethically by highlighting 'night-battle' and 'confused melee,' suggesting how warfare can descend into conditions where dharmic clarity is difficult to maintain and moral restraint is tested.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is the closing marker of the chapter: it states that the 169th chapter ends within the Droṇa Parvan, in the sub-section dealing with Ghaṭotkaca’s death, set amid the night fighting and the chaotic, entangled combat.