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Lord Mahavira and His Times
specific names to the Jabalopanishad. From the time of the early Dharmasūtras, these four Aśramas with their successive stages became well known. The Āpastamba Dharmasūtral says, “There are four Aśramas, viz., the stage of a householder, that of one staying in the teacher's house, the stage of being a Muni, and the stage of being a forest-dweller. Āpastamba places the householder first among the Asramas probably on account of the importance of that stage to all other Āśramas. To Gautama? the four Āframas were Brahmachari, Grihastha, Bhikshu and Vaikhānasa. Vasishtha Dharmasūtra’ names the four Aśramas as Brahmachāri, Gțihastha, Vānaprastha and Parivrājaka. The Buddhist literature4 knew all the four stages into which the life of the three upper classes was divided.
The first part of man's life is Brahmacharya in which he studies in his teacher's house; in the second part he marries and becomes a householder, pays off his debts to his ancestors by begetting sons and to the gods by performing Yajñas. When he sees that his hair is growing grey and that there are wrinkles on his body, he resorts to the forest, i.e., becomes a Vānaprastha. After spending the third part of his life in the forest for some time, he spends the rest part of his life as a Sannyāsin.
It is believed that the scheme of the Asrama was so devised that the individual may attain the four goals of existence, namely, Dharma, Artha, Kāma, and Moksha. In the Brahmacharya stage, through the discipline of his will and emotion, he attains dharma. In the Gșihastha Āśrama,' he marries, becomes a householder, tastes the pleasures of the world, enjoys life, has sons, discharges his duties to his children, to his friends, relatives and neighbours and becomes a worthy citizen, the founder of a family. He is supposed to attain Artha and Kāma during this period. In Vānaprastha, he is called upon to resort to a forest life for pondering over the great problems of the life hereafter and to accustom himself to self-abnegation,
1. Ap. Dh.S, II. 9. 21-1, 2. Gau. Dh. S, III. 2, 3. Vas. Dh. S. VII, 1-2. 4. Abhidhammapadipika, 409; Dhammapada, 135.
