Shloka 13
नारद–असित (देवल) संवादः — भूतप्रभवाप्यय, इन्द्रिय-गुण-विवेक, क्षेत्रज्ञ-तत्त्व
गच्छत्येव परित्यागी वानप्रस्थक्ष गच्छति । गृहस्थो ब्रह्म॒चारी च उभौ तावपि गच्छत:
gacchaty eva parityāgī vānaprasthaś ca gacchati | gṛhastho brahmacārī ca ubhau tāv api gacchataḥ ||
Itinuro ni Kapila na ang pinakamataas na layon ay hindi pag-aari ng iisang yugto ng buhay. Ang nagtalikod sa daigdig (saṃnyāsin) ay tiyak na makararating dito, at ang naninirahan sa gubat (vānaprastha) ay maaari ring makararating; gayundin, maging ang maybahay (gṛhastha) at ang mag-aaral na may pagpipigil (brahmacārin)—kapwa rin—ay maaaring magtamo ng gayon ding sukdulang kalagayan.
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
All four āśramas—student, householder, forest-dweller, and renunciant—can lead to the supreme goal when lived with genuine detachment, self-control, and dharmic conduct; liberation is grounded in inner realization rather than mere external renunciation.
Kapila is instructing his listener within the Śānti Parva’s philosophical discourse, emphasizing that spiritual attainment is accessible across life-stages and is determined by the quality of one’s practice and understanding.