Shloka 7
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
अथ धर्मयुगे तस्मिन् योगधर्ममनुछिता । महीमनुचचारैका सुलभा नाम भिक्षुकी,वह धर्मप्रधान युगका समय था। उन दिनों सुलभा नामवाली एक संन्यासिनी योगधर्मके अनुष्ठानद्वारा सिद्धि प्राप्त करके अकेली ही इस पृथ्वीपर विचरण करती थी
atha dharmayuge tasmin yogadharmam anuṣṭhitā | mahīm anucacāraikā sulabhā nāma bhikṣukī ||
Bhishma sprach: In jenem Zeitalter, da das Dharma vorherrschte, wanderte eine Bettelasketin namens Sulabhā—vollendet durch die disziplinierte Übung des yogischen Dharma—allein über die Erde.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that true spiritual authority arises from disciplined yogic practice (yogadharma) and steadfast dharma, not from external status. Sulabhā’s solitary wandering symbolizes inner freedom, self-sufficiency, and ethical integrity in a dharmic age.
Bhīṣma introduces Sulabhā, a realized female renunciant who has attained success through yogic discipline and travels alone across the earth. This sets the stage for her later engagement with philosophical and ethical questions in the surrounding episode.