Shloka 9
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
चातुराश्रम्यधर्माश्च वेदधर्माश्च पार्थिव । ब्राह्मणेनानुगन्तव्या नान्यो विद्यात् कदाचन
cāturāśramyadharmāś ca vedadharmāś ca pārthiva | brāhmaṇenānugantavyā nānyo vidyāt kadācana ||
因陀罗说道：“大王啊，四住期（āśrama）之义务与吠陀所教之义务，婆罗门当尽皆遵行。除此之外的任何人——如首陀罗——都不可能以同样的方式真正知晓那些吠陀之法。”
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a varṇa-āśrama framework: the full range of āśrama-based duties and Vedic injunctions are presented as properly knowable and to be practiced primarily by brāhmaṇas, emphasizing Vedic learning and ritual-ethical competence as their defining responsibility.
Indra addresses a king and instructs him on dharma, specifically highlighting who is qualified to know and follow Vedic and āśrama duties, thereby reinforcing a normative social-religious order within the Śānti Parva’s broader discourse on righteous conduct.