Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 6
Āśrama-dharma and Brahmacarya: Śuka’s Inquiry on Karma and Tyāga (शुक-प्रश्नः कर्मत्यागविवेकश्च)
गृहस्थस्त्वेष धर्माणां सर्वेषां मूलमुच्यते । यत्र पक्वकषायो हि दान्तः सर्वत्र सिध्यति
gṛhasthas tveṣa dharmāṇāṃ sarveṣāṃ mūlam ucyate | yatra pakvakaṣāyo hi dāntaḥ sarvatra sidhyati ||
毗耶娑说：居家期（gṛhastha）被宣示为一切法之行的根本。因为正是在此处，能自制之人——其内心诸垢如贪欲等既已成熟而被焚尽——便能于一切正法生活之境中获得成就。
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the gṛhastha-āśrama is the foundational support of all dharmas, because it sustains society and provides the practical field in which disciplined, sense-controlled living and inner purification can mature into comprehensive success in righteous life.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vyāsa is presenting a doctrinal point about the hierarchy and function of the āśramas, emphasizing the householder stage as the base from which other modes of life and spiritual aims are supported and fulfilled.