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 ||
ビーシュマは言った。「ダルマが世を治めていたその時代、スラバ―（Sulabhā）という名の女の遊行者がいた。彼女はヨーガのダルマを厳しく修して成就を得、ただ独り大地を遍歴していた。」
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.