The Law Code of Yājñavalkya 3.4.4

3.4.4

yāvatā kālena tīvratapaḥśoṣitavapuṣo viṣayakaṣāyaparipāko bhavati punaś ca madodbhavāśaṅkā nodbhāvyate tāvatkālaṃ vanavāsaṃ kṛtvā tatsamanantaraṃ mokṣe manaḥ kuryāt | vanagṛhaśabdābhyāṃ tatsaṃbandhyāśramo lakṣyate | mokṣaśabdena ca mokṣaikaphalakaś caturthāśramaḥ | atha vā gṛhād gārhasthyād anantaraṃ mokṣe manaḥ kuryāt | anena ca pūrvoktaś caturāśramasamuccayapakṣaḥ pākṣika iti dyotiyati | tathā ca vikalpo jābālśrutau śrūyate: brahmacaryaṃ parisamāpya gṛhī bhavet, gṛhī bhūtvā vanī bhavet, vanī bhūtvā pravrajet | yadi vetarathā brahmacaryād eva pravrajet gṛhād vā vanād vā iti (Jābāla Upaniṣad, p. 64) | tathā gārhasthottarāśramabādhaś ca gautamena darśitaḥ: aikāśramyaṃ tv ācāryāḥ pratyakṣavidhānād gārhasthyasya (GDh 3.36) iti | eteṣāṃ ca samuccayavikalpabādhapakṣāṇāṃ sarveṣāṃ śrutimūlastvād icchayā vikalpaḥ | ato yat kaiścit paṇḍitaṃmanyair uktam smārtatvān naiṣṭhikatvādīnāṃ gārhasthyena śrautena bādhaḥ gārhasthyānadhikṛtāndhaklībādiviṣayatā vā iti, tat svādhyāyādhyayanavaidhuryanibandhanam ity upekṣaṇīyam | kiṃ ca yathā viṣṇukramaṇājyāvekṣaṇādyakṣamatayā paṅgvādīnāṃ śrauteṣv anadhikāras tathā smārteṣv apy udakumbhāharaṇabhikṣācaryādiṣv akṣamatvāt kathaṃ paṅgvādiviṣayatayā naiṣṭhikatvādyāśramanirvāhaḥ | asmiṃś cāśrame brāhmaṇasyaivādhikāraḥ,

After living in the forest for as long as it takes for the impurities of the sense-objects to ripen in one whose body has been emaciated by severe austerities, and no further fear of the arising of arrogance can arise, immediately after that he should set his mind on liberation. By the words “forest” and “home,” the life stages associated with them are indicated. And by the word “liberation,” the fourth stage of life, whose sole fruit is liberation, is indicated. Or else, immediately after the home, [that is,] the householder stage, he should set his mind on liberation. And by this, he indicates that the previously mentioned view of the combination of the four stages of life is optional. And such an alternative is heard in the Jābāla scripture: “Having completed studenthood, he should become a householder; having become a householder, he should become a forest dweller; having become a forest dweller, he should renounce. Or, if otherwise, he should renounce directly from studenthood, or from the home, or from the forest” (Jābāla Upaniṣad 4). Likewise, the annulment of subsequent stages of life by the householder stage is shown by Gautama: “The teachers, however, hold there is only one stage of life, because the householder stage is directly enjoined” (GDh 3.36). And since all these views—combination, option, and annulment—are rooted in Vedic scripture, the choice depends on one's wish. Therefore, what has been said by certain self-styled scholars, namely: “Because perpetual studenthood and the other [stages] are based on traditional smṛti, they are annulled by the householder stage which is Vedic; or their scope is restricted to the blind, eunuchs, and others not qualified for the householder stage”—that is to be dismissed, as it is based on a lack of Vedic recitation and study. Furthermore, just as the lame and others lack qualification for Vedic rites because they are unable to perform the strides of Viṣṇu, inspection of the clarified butter, and so forth, so too, being unable to fetch water pots, wander for alms, and the like in traditional rites, how could the maintenance of the life stages such as perpetual studenthood be restricted to the scope of the lame and others? And in this stage of life, only a Brahmin is qualified,