Shloka 12
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
सा प्राप्य मिथिलां रम्यां प्रभूतजनसंकुलाम् | भैक्ष्यचर्यापदेशेन ददर्श मिथिलेश्वरम्
sā prāpya mithilāṁ ramyāṁ prabhūtajana-saṅkulām | bhaikṣya-caryā-apadeśena dadarśa mithileśvaram ||
Bhishma berkata: Setelah tiba di kota Mithilā yang indah, sesak dengan orang ramai, pertapa wanita Sulabhā—dengan alasan berjalan meminta sedekah—telah memandang dan bertemu dengan penguasa Mithilā.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets up an ethical inquiry: genuine renunciation and wisdom can confront worldly authority without hostility, using accepted social forms (like alms-rounds) to initiate a dharmic examination of power, identity, and detachment.
Sulabhā arrives in the populous, beautiful city of Mithilā and, pretending to be on an alms-round, gains access to see the king of Mithilā (Janaka), initiating the famous encounter that follows.