Shloka 13
नारद–असित (देवल) संवादः — भूतप्रभवाप्यय, इन्द्रिय-गुण-विवेक, क्षेत्रज्ञ-तत्त्व
गच्छत्येव परित्यागी वानप्रस्थक्ष गच्छति । गृहस्थो ब्रह्म॒चारी च उभौ तावपि गच्छत:
gacchaty eva parityāgī vānaprasthaś ca gacchati | gṛhastho brahmacārī ca ubhau tāv api gacchataḥ ||
संन्यासी निश्चय ही उस परम पद को प्राप्त होता है, वानप्रस्थ भी वहाँ पहुँच सकता है। गृहस्थ और ब्रह्मचारी—ये दोनों भी उसी परम अवस्था को प्राप्त कर सकते हैं।
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
All four āśramas—student, householder, forest-dweller, and renunciant—can lead to the supreme goal when lived with genuine detachment, self-control, and dharmic conduct; liberation is grounded in inner realization rather than mere external renunciation.
Kapila is instructing his listener within the Śānti Parva’s philosophical discourse, emphasizing that spiritual attainment is accessible across life-stages and is determined by the quality of one’s practice and understanding.