History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c20.231

v2.c20.231

(10) As the śūdra could not be initiated into Vedic study, the only āśrama out of the four that he was entitled to was that of the householder. In the Anuśāsanaparva (165. 10) we read³⁸² 'I am a śūdra and so I have no right to resort to the four āśramas'. In the Śāntiparva³⁸³ (63. 12-14) it is said, 'in the case of a śūdra who performs service (of the higher classes), who has done his duty, who has raised offspring, who has only a short span of life left or is reduced to the 10th stage (i. e. is above 90 years of age), the fruits of all āśramas are laid down (as obtained by him) except of the fourth.' Medhātithi on Manu VI. 97 explains these words as meaning that the śūdra by serving brāhmaṇas and procreating offspring as a house-holder acquires the merit of all āśramas except *mokṣa* which is the reward of the proper observance of the duties of the fourth āśrama.