Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 28, Shloka 31
Adhyaya 28 — Alarka Inquires into Varna and Ashrama Dharma; Madalasa Defines the Fourfold Duties
चतुर्थे त्वाश्रमे धर्मो मयायं ते निवेदितः । सामान्यं अन्यवर्णानामाश्रमाणाञ्च मे शृणु ॥
caturthe tv āśrame dharmo mayāyaṃ te niveditaḥ | sāmānyam anyavarṇānām āśramāṇāṃ ca me śṛṇu ||
Sa gayon, ipinaliwanag ko sa iyo ang dharma ng ikaapat na āśrama. Ngayon, pakinggan mo mula sa akin ang mga pangkalahatang tungkulin na pinagsasaluhan ng iba pang mga varṇa at ng mga āśrama rin.
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FAQs
After specifying stage-specific rules, the text emphasizes universal virtues—suggesting that dharma is both contextual (role-based) and universal (character-based).
Ethics and social order instruction; supportive material around the Purāṇic core topics.
The move from ‘special duties’ to ‘common duties’ mirrors spiritual maturation: from external prescriptions to stable inner qualities.