Shloka 28
Ātma-saṃyama-dharma: One-pointedness of Mind and Senses (शुक–व्यास संवादः)
आश्रमादाश्रमेष्वेव शिष्यो वर्तेत कर्मणा । इस प्रकार शिष्य यथाशक्ति सेवा करके गुरुको प्रसन्न करे और उन्हें उपहार देकर उनकी अआज्ञासे ब्रह्मचर्य-आश्रमसे दूसरे आश्रमोंमें पदार्पण करे और वहाँ भी उन आश्रमोंके कर्तव्योंका पालन करता रहे ।।
āśramād āśrameṣv eva śiṣyo varteta karmaṇā | vedavrato'pavāsena caturthe cāyuṣo gate,
Vyāsa said: “From one stage of life to the next, the disciple should conduct himself through right action. Serving the teacher to the best of his ability, he should please him; then, with the teacher’s permission and after offering gifts, he should move on from the brahmacarya stage to the other āśramas, continuing to perform the duties proper to each. When, while observing Vedic vows and disciplines such as fasting, a quarter of one’s lifespan has passed, one should offer the teacher the due honorarium and duly complete the samāvartana (graduation) rite.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches āśrama-dharma: a student should honor and serve the guru, complete study with Vedic discipline, and then—only with the teacher’s permission and after offering dakṣiṇā—transition properly to the next life-stage while continuing the duties of each āśrama.
Vyāsa lays down a normative guideline for a disciple’s life-course: service and obedience during brahmacarya, formal completion through samāvartana, and orderly movement into subsequent āśramas with continued adherence to their respective obligations.