Shloka 7
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
चतुर्णामेव वर्णानामागम: पुरुषर्षभ । अतोःन्ये त्वतिरिक्ता ये ते वै संकरजा: स्मृता:,पुरुषप्रवर! इस प्रकार ब्रह्माजीके चार अंगोंसे चार वर्णोकी ही उत्पत्ति हुई। इनसे भिन्न जो दूसरे-दूसरे मनुष्य हैं, वे इन्हीं चार वर्णोके सम्मिश्रणसे उत्पन्न होनेके कारण वर्णसंकर कहलाते हैं
caturṇām eva varṇānām āgamaḥ puruṣarṣabha | ato 'nye tv atiriktā ye te vai saṅkarajāḥ smṛtāḥ ||
Parāśara said: “O bull among men, the recognized origin is of the four varṇas alone. Those other people who are distinct from these are remembered as ‘born of mixture’ (varṇa-saṅkara), because they arise from intermixture among the four.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a traditional framework: the primary social categories are the four varṇas, and groups outside these are described in smṛti-language as arising from intermixture among them (saṅkara). It frames social classification as a matter of received tradition and genealogy.
In the Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, the sage Parāśara is instructing his listener on dharma-related social theory—specifically, how varṇas are said to originate and how ‘mixed’ categories are defined in traditional discourse.