Shloka 4
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
बहुश्र॒त्या गुरुशुश्रूषया च परस्परं संहननाद् वदन्ति । नित्यं॑ धर्म क्षत्रियो ब्रह्म॒चारी चरेदेको ह्माश्रमं धर्मकाम:
bahuśratyā guruśuśrūṣayā ca parasparaṃ saṃhananād vadanti | nityaṃ dharma kṣatriyo brahmacārī cared eko hy āśramaṃ dharmakāmaḥ ||
Indra said: “By wide learning and by devoted service to one’s teacher, people come to speak in harmony with one another. A kṣatriya who is ever intent on dharma should, as a brahmacārin, practice a single āśrama—steadfastly pursuing righteousness.”
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Learning (bahuśruti) and humble service to the teacher (guruśuśrūṣā) cultivate disciplined, harmonious speech and understanding; for a kṣatriya devoted to dharma, the verse emphasizes steadfast adherence to a defined life-discipline—here framed as brahmacarya and commitment to one āśrama.
Indra is instructing on right conduct: he links moral and social stability to education under a guru and to regulated life-practice, presenting brahmacarya and āśrama-discipline as foundations for a dharma-oriented kṣatriya.