Shloka 4
Āśrama-dharma and Brahmacarya: Śuka’s Inquiry on Karma and Tyāga (शुक-प्रश्नः कर्मत्यागविवेकश्च)
आचार्येणाभ्यनुज्ञातश्चतुर्णामेकमा श्रमम् । आविमोक्षाच्छरीरस्य सोडवतिछेद् यथाविधि
ācāryeṇābhyanujñātaś caturṇām ekam āśramam | āvimokṣāc charīrasya soḍavatīcched yathāvidhi ||
Wika ni Vyāsa: Kapag nakamit na ang pahintulot ng guro, dapat pumasok ang tao sa isa sa apat na āśrama, at ayon sa tuntunin ng śāstra ay mamuhay sa disiplinang iyon hanggang sa tuluyang iwan ang katawan—(o kaya’y dumaan nang wasto, sunod-sunod, sa lahat ng āśrama).
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is to be lived through a regulated life-stage (āśrama) chosen with the preceptor’s sanction, and followed faithfully according to śāstra—either remaining in one āśrama for life or progressing through the traditional sequence.
Vyāsa is laying down a normative rule of conduct: after receiving the ācārya’s approval, a person adopts an āśrama-based way of life and maintains it in scripturally prescribed fashion until death (or moves step-by-step through the āśramas).