Shloka 8
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
क्षत्रियातिरथाम्बष्ठा उग्रा वैदेहकास्तथा । श्वपाका: पुल्कसा: स्तेना निषादा: सूतमागधा:
kṣatriyātirathāmbaṣṭhā ugrā vaidehakās tathā | śvapākāḥ pulkasāḥ stenā niṣādāḥ sūtamāgadhāḥ ||
Parāśara berkata: “Wahai raja, Kṣatriya, Atiratha, Ambaṣṭha, Ugra, dan Vaidehaka; demikian pula Śvapāka, Pulkasa, Stena, Niṣāda, Sūta, dan Māgadha—kelompok-kelompok yang disebut ini dikatakan muncul dari percampuran di antara empat varṇa, melalui persatuan yang disebut ‘anuloma’ dan ‘viloma’.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a dharma-style taxonomy: certain named communities are explained as arising from inter-varṇa unions categorized as anuloma (in-order) and viloma (reverse). The underlying teaching is the text’s concern with regulating social identity through lineage and marriage norms.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, the sage Parāśara addresses a king and enumerates various groups, framing them as products of different kinds of intermixture among the four varṇas, as part of a broader discourse on social and legal order.