Shloka 22
परिव्राजक-आचारः (Conduct of the Wandering Renunciant) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 269
सर्ववर्णेषु जातेषु नासीत् कश्रनिद् व्यतिक्रम: । व्यस्तमेकं चतुर्धा हि ब्राह्मणा आश्रमं विदु:
sarvavarṇeṣu jāteṣu nāsīt kaścid vyatikramaḥ | vyastam ekaṃ caturdhā hi brāhmaṇā āśramaṃ viduḥ ||
迦毗罗说道：“当诸种姓（varṇa）皆已出现之初，关于人生修行之制（āśrama），并无偏差与不平等。后来，原本单一的生活之道被区分为四个阶段；此事为婆罗门所共知。”
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kapila teaches that the life-discipline (āśrama) was originally conceived as a single, non-discriminatory framework across varṇas, and only later became articulated into four distinct stages—implying that ethical life precedes and can transcend later social compartmentalization.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic dialogue, Kapila explains an earlier condition of social-religious practice: after the emergence of the varṇas there was no disparity in āśrama observance, but subsequently the one āśrama was divided into four stages, a tradition remembered by learned Brahmanas.