Shloka 5
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
क्षत्रिय ब्रह्मचारी धर्मपालनकी इच्छा रखकर अनेक शास्त्रोंके ज्ञानका उपार्जन तथा गुरुशुश्रूषा करते हुए अकेला ही नित्य ब्रह्मचर्य-आश्रमके धर्मका आचरण करे। यह बात ऋषिलोग परस्पर मिलकर कहते हैं ।।
indra uvāca | kṣatriyo brahmacārī dharmapālanecchayā nānāśāstrajñānopārjanaṃ guruśuśrūṣāṃ ca kurvan eko nityaṃ brahmacaryāśramadharmam ācaret—iti ṛṣayaḥ parasparaṃ saṃmilitā vadanti || sāmānyārthe vyavahāre pravṛtte priyāpriye varjayann eva yatnāt | cāturvarṇyasthāpanāt pālanāc ca tais tair yogair niyamair aurasaḥ puruṣārthaiḥ sarvodyogaiś ca kṣātradharmaṃ gṛhasthāśramaṃ caiva sarvaśreṣṭhaṃ sarvadharmasampannaṃ prāhur yato hi sarvavarṇāḥ kṣātradharmasahāyena svadharmaṃ pālayanti | kṣātradharmābhāve teṣāṃ sarvadharmāṇāṃ prayojanaṃ viparītaṃ bhavatīti vadanti ||
因陀罗说：“受持梵行者（brahmacārin）戒律的刹帝利，应以护持法（dharma）为志，研习众多论典（śāstra），并恭敬侍奉师长；以自制之心，即便独居，也当恒常修行梵行住期（brahmacarya-āśrama）之义务——诸先见者一致如是宣说。及至世间交往与公共事务展开之时，国王应谨慎舍弃个人的好恶。由于他以种种方法、戒律、正当的奋勉与周全的努力，建立并守护四姓（varṇa），故传统称颂：王权之法（kṣātra-dharma）与家住期（gṛhastha-āśrama）同为最胜、最圆满之法；因为诸姓各自之职，唯赖王法扶持方能维系。若无刹帝利之法，则一切诸法之旨趣据说将被颠倒，反成其本意之对立。”
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler-in-training must combine disciplined study and service to the teacher with strict self-restraint, and once engaged in public governance must renounce personal bias (likes/dislikes). Kṣātra-dharma—protecting and stabilizing the four varṇas—is presented as indispensable, because other social and religious duties function properly only when protected by just royal power.
Indra addresses principles of conduct for a kṣatriya: first as a brahmacārin devoted to learning and guru-service, then as a king entering public administration. He reports the consensus of the seers that impartial governance and the protection of the social order make kṣatriya-dharma (along with the householder foundation) central to the maintenance of dharma in society.