Āśrama-dharma and Brahmacarya: Śuka’s Inquiry on Karma and Tyāga (शुक-प्रश्नः कर्मत्यागविवेकश्च)
गृहस्थस्त्वेष धर्माणां सर्वेषां मूलमुच्यते । यत्र पक्वकषायो हि दान्तः सर्वत्र सिध्यति
gṛhasthas tveṣa dharmāṇāṃ sarveṣāṃ mūlam ucyate | yatra pakvakaṣāyo hi dāntaḥ sarvatra sidhyati ||
ಗೃಹಸ್ಥಾಶ್ರಮವನ್ನೇ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಧರ್ಮಗಳ ಮೂಲವೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ; ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅಂತರಂಗದ ರಾಗಾದಿ ಮಲಗಳು ಪಕ್ವವಾಗಿ ದಗ್ಧವಾಗುತ್ತವೆ, ಮತ್ತು ಇಂದ್ರಿಯನಿಗ್ರಹ ಹೊಂದಿದವನು ಎಲ್ಲೆಡೆ ಸಿದ್ಧಿಯನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಾನೆ।
व्यास उवाच
The verse teaches that the gṛhastha-āśrama is the foundational support of all dharmas, because it sustains society and provides the practical field in which disciplined, sense-controlled living and inner purification can mature into comprehensive success in righteous life.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vyāsa is presenting a doctrinal point about the hierarchy and function of the āśramas, emphasizing the householder stage as the base from which other modes of life and spiritual aims are supported and fulfilled.