Shloka 178

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि अम्बोपाख्यानपर्वणि परशुरामभीष्मयो: कुरुक्षेत्रावतरणे अष्टसप्तत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi ambopākhyānaparvaṇi paraśurāmabhīṣmayoḥ kurukṣetrāvataraṇe aṣṭasaptatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

یوں شری مہابھارت کے اُدیَوگ پَرو کے اَمبا اُپاکھیان پَرو میں پرشورام اور بھیشم کے کوروکشیتر میں اترنے کے بیان پر مشتمل ایک سو اٹھترویں باب کا اختتام ہوا۔ یہ اختتامی عبارت اس واقعے کو اخلاقی و دھارمک وزن رکھنے والی مڈبھیڑ کے طور پر قائم کرتی ہے—جہاں معزز گرو-یودھا پرشورام اور دھرم کی قسم کھائے نگہبان بھیشم مقدس کوروکشیتر میں آمنے سامنے آتے ہیں؛ وہی میدان جو آگے چل کر مہایُدھ کا اسٹیج بنے گا۔

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the revered Mahabharata

उद्योगपर्वणिin the Udyoga-parvan

अम्बोपाख्यानपर्वणिin the Amba-upakhyana section

परशुरामभीष्मयोःof Parashurama and Bhishma

कुरुक्षेत्रावतरणेat the descent/arrival to Kurukshetra

अष्टसप्तत्यधिकशततमःthe one-hundred-and-seventy-eighth (chapter)

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Udyoga Parva

Ambā (implied by Ambopākhyāna)

Paraśurāma

Bhīṣma

Kurukṣetra

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?

The colophon signals an episode where dharma is tested through competing obligations: Bhīṣma’s unwavering vow and duty confront Paraśurāma’s authority and sense of kṣatriya justice. The ethical focus is on how righteous intent can still lead to conflict when duties collide.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is the chapter-ending colophon stating that the Ambā-related sub-narrative has reached the point where Paraśurāma and Bhīṣma arrive at Kurukṣetra for their confrontation, marking a pivotal escalation in the Ambā episode within the Udyoga Parva.