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 ||
毗湿摩说道：且听这段对话——当二人同处一所之时所发生的：一方是阇那迦王，已放下伞盖等王者徽记；一方是苏罗婆，甚至连出家者“三杖”（tridaṇḍa）的标志也不系于身，得大自在。
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.