Shloka 157

कुरुक्षेत्रे सेनानिवेशवृत्तान्तः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra Questions Saṃjaya on the Deployed Armies

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि सैन्यनिर्याणपर्वणि बलरामती र्थयात्रागमने सप्तपञ्चाशदधिकशततमो< ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi sainyaniryāṇaparvaṇi balarāmatīrthayātrāgamane saptapañcāśadadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那作结道：至此，在《圣摩诃婆罗多》中，于《优提瑜伽篇》及“诸军出征”之章内，叙述巴拉罗摩启程前往诸圣渡（tīrtha）朝圣之行（tīrtha-yātrā）的第一百五十七章告终。此结尾题记昭示一段有意的法义停顿：当战争筹备愈加紧迫之时，巴拉罗摩却选择退身入朝圣之旅，以净化与克制回应日益升高的冲突。

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'iti', 'definition': 'thus

• a marker concluding a statement or section'}, {'term': 'śrīmahābhārate', 'definition': 'in the revered Mahābhārata (locative singular)'}, {'term': 'udyogaparvaṇi', 'definition': 'in the Udyoga Parva

• the Book of Effort/Preparations (for war)'}, {'term': 'sainyaniryāṇaparvaṇi', 'definition': 'in the sub-section concerning the departure/marching of the armies'}, {'term': 'balarāma', 'definition': 'Balarāma

• elder brother of Kṛṣṇa, associated with strength and restraint'}, {'term': 'tīrtha', 'definition': 'sacred ford/pilgrimage place

• a site of crossing and purification'}, {'term': 'yātrā', 'definition': 'journey

• pilgrimage'}, {'term': 'gamane', 'definition': 'in the going/departure (locative)

• ‘regarding the departure’'}, {'term': 'saptapañcāśad-adhika-śatatamaḥ', 'definition': 'the 157th (literally: ‘the hundredth plus fifty-seven’) chapter'}, {'term': 'adhyāyaḥ', 'definition': 'chapter'}]

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Mahābhārata
• Udyoga Parva
• Sainyaniryāṇa-parvan (section)
• Balarāma
• Tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The colophon highlights a dharmic counterpoint to war: when conflict becomes unavoidable, one ethical response is restraint and purification. Balarāma’s choice of pilgrimage suggests stepping away from partisan escalation and seeking inner clarity amid collective violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is the formal end-of-chapter notice. It states that the 157th chapter (within Udyoga Parva, in the army-march section) has concluded, and its subject is Balarāma’s departure to undertake a tīrtha-yātrā.