Shloka 9
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
अयोगा: करणा व्रात्याक्षाण्डालाश्ष नराधिप । एते चतुर्भ्यो वर्णेभ्यो जायन्ते वै परस्परात्
ayogāḥ karaṇā vrātyāḥ cāṇḍālāś ca narādhipa | ete caturbhyo varṇebhyo jāyante vai parasparāt, nareśvara | kṣatriya, atiratha, ambaṣṭha, ugra, vaideha, śvapāka, pulkasa, stena, niṣāda, sūta, māgadha, ayoga, karaṇa, vrātya, caṇḍāla—ete brāhmaṇādi-caturvarṇeṣu anuloma-viloma-varṇa-strī-saṃyogāt paraspara-saṃyogena jāyante ||
पाराशर उवाच— अयोगा: करणा व्रात्याश्चाण्डालाश्च नराधिप । एते चतुर्भ्यो वर्णेभ्यो जायन्ते वै परस्परात् ॥
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames certain named communities as arising from inter-varṇa unions, distinguishing ‘anuloma’ and ‘viloma’ pairings. In the Śānti Parva’s dharma discourse, this functions as a normative taxonomy: it explains social categories through lineage rules and uses them to discuss order, transgression, and the consequences of disregarding prescribed conduct.
Parāśara is instructing a king within a didactic section of the Śānti Parva. He lists groups said to be produced by mutual intermixture among the four varṇas, presenting a traditional origin-list used in dharma-style teaching rather than a battlefield or plot-driven episode.