Shloka 9
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
अयोगा: करणा व्रात्याक्षाण्डालाश्ष नराधिप । एते चतुर्भ्यो वर्णेभ्यो जायन्ते वै परस्परात्,नरेश्वर! क्षत्रिय, अतिरथ, अम्बष्ठ, उग्र, वैदेह, श्वपाक, पुल्कस, स्तेन, निषाद, सूत, मागध, अयोग, करण, व्रात्य और चाण्डाल--ये ब्राह्मण आदि चार वर्णोसे अनुलोम और विलोम वर्णकी स्त्रियोंके साथ परस्पर संयोग होनेसे उत्पन्न होते हैं
ayogāḥ karaṇā vrātyāḥ cāṇḍālāś ca narādhipa | ete caturbhyo varṇebhyo jāyante vai parasparāt, nareśvara | kṣatriya, atiratha, ambaṣṭha, ugra, vaideha, śvapāka, pulkasa, stena, niṣāda, sūta, māgadha, ayoga, karaṇa, vrātya, caṇḍāla—ete brāhmaṇādi-caturvarṇeṣu anuloma-viloma-varṇa-strī-saṃyogāt paraspara-saṃyogena jāyante ||
Parāśara said: “O king, the Ayoga, Karaṇa, Vrātya, and Cāṇḍāla—and likewise the Kṣatriya, Atiratha, Ambaṣṭha, Ugra, Vaideha, Śvapāka, Pulkasa, Stena, Niṣāda, Sūta, and Māgadha—are said to arise through intermixture among the four primary social orders. O ruler of men, these groups are described as being born from unions (both ‘in the natural order’ and ‘against the order’) between women of the four varṇas, through mutual combinations.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames certain named communities as arising from inter-varṇa unions, distinguishing ‘anuloma’ and ‘viloma’ pairings. In the Śānti Parva’s dharma discourse, this functions as a normative taxonomy: it explains social categories through lineage rules and uses them to discuss order, transgression, and the consequences of disregarding prescribed conduct.
Parāśara is instructing a king within a didactic section of the Śānti Parva. He lists groups said to be produced by mutual intermixture among the four varṇas, presenting a traditional origin-list used in dharma-style teaching rather than a battlefield or plot-driven episode.