Shloka 15
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
अथ भुक्तवती प्रीता राजानं मन्त्रिभि्वृतम् । सर्वभाष्यविदां मध्ये चोदयामास भिक्षुकी
atha bhuktavatī prītā rājānaṃ mantribhir vṛtam | sarvabhāṣyavidāṃ madhye codayāmāsa bhikṣukī ||
Bhīṣma nói: Khi nữ khất sĩ Sulabhā đã dùng bữa và thấy thỏa lòng, nàng quyết định chất vấn vua Janaka—người đang ngồi giữa vòng vây các đại thần, giữa hội chúng học giả tinh thông mọi truyền thống chú giải.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets up an ethical-philosophical examination: true wisdom is not confined to status or institutional learning. A renunciant, after simple satisfaction, initiates inquiry before ministers and scholars, implying that dharma and self-knowledge must withstand public, reasoned questioning beyond social rank.
After being fed and becoming content, the mendicant woman Sulabhā decides to question King Janaka. Janaka is seated in a learned assembly, surrounded by his ministers, and Sulabhā prepares to challenge him with questions in front of expert scholars.