Hindu Administrative Institutions c6.s4.36

c6.s4.36

So far the *varṇas*. The *āśramas* or stages of life are for the Brahman four: *brahmacharya*, *gṛhastha*, *vānaprastha* and *sanyāsa*; for the Kṣatriya three (other than *Sanyāsa*); for the Vaiśya two (excluding *vānaprastha* and *sanyāsa*); and for the Sudra only one, i.e. *gṛhastha*.¹ An elaborate study of this is made in chapter lx of the *Rāja Dharma* portion of the *Mahābhārata*. The first is a course of education and discipline. The student is expected to undergo a life of celibacy and austerity under the immediate and continuous guidance of a patriarchal *guru* or teacher. It is a life of discipline and purity. It prepares the student to squarely face the struggling world of *saṃsāra*—household, family, and children. Formation of character, building up of a robust body and acquisition of sound educational qualifications are then the results of the first *āśrama*. Ancient India would count with pride a number of life-*brahmachārins* devoted to the welfare of the common people, at the sacrifice of their very selves. Some of them are the great Bhīṣmāchārya, the grandsire of the Kauravas, Hanumān the wisest sage and the heroic warrior rolled