Shloka 7
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
अथ धर्मयुगे तस्मिन् योगधर्ममनुछिता । महीमनुचचारैका सुलभा नाम भिक्षुकी
atha dharmayuge tasmin yogadharmam anuṣṭhitā | mahīm anucacāraikā sulabhā nāma bhikṣukī ||
Bhishma dit : En cet âge où le dharma régnait, une mendiante nommée Sulabhā—accomplie par la pratique rigoureuse du dharma du yoga—errait seule à travers la terre.
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.