Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि निवातकवचयुद्धपर्वणि गन्धमादनवासे युधिष्ठटिरार्जुनसंवादे सप्तषष्ट्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate vanaparvaṇi nivātakavacayuddhaparvaṇi gandhamādanavāse yudhiṣṭhirārjunasaṃvāde saptaṣaṣṭyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ
Sa ganito, sa Śrī Mahābhārata, sa loob ng Vana Parva—lalo na sa bahaging tumatalakay sa digmaan laban sa mga Nivātakavaca—noong pananatili ng mga Pāṇḍava sa Gandhamādana, sa pag-uusap nina Yudhiṣṭhira at Arjuna, nagwakas ang ika-isang daan at animnapu’t pitong kabanata. (Ito’y kolofon na tanda ng pagtatapos ng kabanata, hindi isang binigkas na taludtod.)
अजुन उवाच
This line is not a teaching verse but a colophon: it situates the chapter within the Mahābhārata’s larger architecture (parva, sub-parva, setting, and interlocutors), reminding readers that ethical reflection and narrative action are framed through carefully organized dialogues and contexts.
The text is marking the end of a chapter set during the Pāṇḍavas’ stay at Gandhamādana, within the portion connected to the Nivātakavacas episode, and presented as part of a dialogue between Yudhiṣṭhira and Arjuna.