Shloka 22
परिव्राजक-आचारः (Conduct of the Wandering Renunciant) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 269
सर्ववर्णेषु जातेषु नासीत् कश्रनिद् व्यतिक्रम: । व्यस्तमेकं चतुर्धा हि ब्राह्मणा आश्रमं विदु:,पूर्वकालमें सब वर्णोंकी उत्पत्ति हो जानेपर आश्रमके विषयमें कोई वैषम्य नहीं था। तदनन्तर एक ही आश्रमको अवस्था-भेदसे चार भागोंमें विभक्त किया गया। इस बातको सभी ब्राह्मण जानते रहे
sarvavarṇeṣu jāteṣu nāsīt kaścid vyatikramaḥ | vyastam ekaṃ caturdhā hi brāhmaṇā āśramaṃ viduḥ ||
Kapila berkata: “Apabila semua varna (golongan) telah wujud, pada mulanya tiada penyimpangan atau ketidaksamaan mengenai disiplin hidup (āśrama). Kemudian, cara hidup yang asalnya satu itu dibezakan menjadi empat tahap; hal ini diketahui oleh para Brahmana.”
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kapila teaches that the life-discipline (āśrama) was originally conceived as a single, non-discriminatory framework across varṇas, and only later became articulated into four distinct stages—implying that ethical life precedes and can transcend later social compartmentalization.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic dialogue, Kapila explains an earlier condition of social-religious practice: after the emergence of the varṇas there was no disparity in āśrama observance, but subsequently the one āśrama was divided into four stages, a tradition remembered by learned Brahmanas.