Shloka 6
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
मुखजा ब्राह्मणास्तात बाहुजा: क्षत्रिया: स्मृता: । ऊरुजा धनिनो राजन् पादजा: परिचारका:,तात! जो मुखसे उत्पन्न हुए, वे ब्राह्मण कहलाये। दोनों भुजाओंसे उत्पन्न होनेवाले मनुष्योंको क्षत्रिय माना गया। राजन! जो ऊरुओं (जाँघों) से उत्पन्न हुए, वे धनवान् (वैश्य) कहे गये; जिनकी उत्पत्ति चरणोंसे हुई, वे सेवक या शूद्र कहलाये
mukhajā brāhmaṇās tāta bāhujāḥ kṣatriyāḥ smṛtāḥ | ūrūjā dhanino rājan pādajāḥ paricārakāḥ ||
Parāśara said: “Dear one, those said to be born from the mouth are Brahmins; those born from the arms are remembered as Kshatriyas. O king, those born from the thighs are the wealthy (Vaiśyas); those born from the feet are attendants and servants (Śūdras).”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys a traditional model of four social functions (varṇas) using the body-metaphor—mouth, arms, thighs, feet—to indicate distinct roles: teaching/ritual, protection/governance, production/wealth, and service. It frames social stability as arising from differentiated duties within dharma.
Parāśara is instructing a king, explaining a received (smṛta) classification of social groups and their associated functions. The tone is didactic, typical of Śānti Parva’s discussions on dharma, governance, and social order.