Shloka 7
Āśrama-dharma and Brahmacarya: Śuka’s Inquiry on Karma and Tyāga (शुक-प्रश्नः कर्मत्यागविवेकश्च)
प्रजावान् श्रोत्रियो यज्वा मुक्त एव ऋणैस्त्रिभि: । अथान्यानाश्रमान् पश्चात् पूतो गच्छेत कर्मभि:
prajāvān śrotriyo yajvā mukta eva ṛṇais tribhiḥ | athānyān āśramān paścāt pūto gacchet karmabhiḥ ||
毗耶娑开示：居家者若已繁衍子嗣，通达吠陀，并行诸祭祀，便能解脱三种根本之债。以子孙偿还对祖灵之债，以研习吠陀偿还对圣仙之债，以祭祀仪轨偿还对诸天之债；既已尽此三债，当依正法完成所规定的职责以自净其身，然后方可进入其余的人生住期（后续诸阿湿罗摩）。
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Before moving on to later life-stages, a person should fulfill gṛhastha-dharma by discharging the three debts: to ancestors through progeny (and related duties), to seers through Vedic study, and to gods through yajña; only then is one considered purified and fit to enter other āśramas.
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa states a normative rule for life-order: the householder completes key obligations (ṛṇa-traya) and prescribed rites, becomes purified, and then proceeds to the subsequent āśramas.