Shloka 19
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
तदेकस्मिन्नधिष्ठाने संवाद: श्रूयतामयम् | छत्रादिषु विमुक्तस्य मुक्तायाश्च त्रिदण्डके
tad ekasminn adhiṣṭhāne saṃvādaḥ śrūyatām ayam | chatrādiṣu vimuktasya muktāyāś ca tridaṇḍake ||
ビーシュマは言った。「いま聞け。二人が同じ住処にとどまっていたときに交わされた対話を。王権のしるしである天蓋などを退けたジャナカ王と、出家の標章たる三杖（トリダンダ）さえも離れて自在なるスラバ—その二者の間の対話である。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a teaching on renunciation: Janaka has abandoned the outward signs of kingship, and Sulabhā is free even from the outward sign of asceticism (the triple staff). The implied ethical point is that liberation is not guaranteed by social role or external emblems; it is grounded in inner detachment and realized freedom.
Bhīṣma introduces a forthcoming discourse. He asks the listener to hear a dialogue that occurred in a single setting between Janaka and Sulabhā—highlighting their contrasting external statuses (kingly vs. ascetic) while emphasizing their shared focus on freedom from attachment.