Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 14
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
पौण्ड्रा: पुलिन्दा रमठा: काम्बोजाश्ैव सर्वश: । ब्रह्मक्षत्रप्रसूताश्व वैश्या: शूद्राक्ष मानवा:
pauṇḍrāḥ pulindā ramaṭhāḥ kāmbojāś caiva sarvaśaḥ | brahma-kṣatra-prasūtāś ca vaiśyāḥ śūdrāś ca mānavāḥ ||
因陀罗说道：“遍处皆有——旁陀罗、蒲林陀、罗摩吒、甘婆阇等族；又有出自婆罗门与刹帝利者，以及被归为吠舍与首陀罗者：这些人群都见于边地诸族之中。（国王所忧者在于）多人已背离达摩，以偷盗与暴力为生；因此他问：如何使这样的社群归于正行，君王又当如何将他们安置在社会与道德秩序的界限之内。”
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a royal-ethical problem: diverse and socially mixed frontier communities, some viewed as having fallen from dharma, must be guided by the king toward lawful livelihood and moral restraint. It foregrounds the king’s duty to establish order and encourage dharmic conduct rather than allow predation and social breakdown.
Indra is speaking in response to a king’s query (in this chapter’s dialogue) about how to govern populations described as mleccha and socially heterogeneous—descendants of various varṇas—who are said to survive by theft and raiding. The king asks how they can practice dharma and how rulers should keep them within proper limits.