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History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c25: Chapter VIII. Āśramas

History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c25

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Chapter VIII. Āśramas

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In the preceding pages several questions connected with *brahmacarya* have been dealt with. *Brahmacarya* is, according to the theory of the dharmasūtras and smṛtis, the first of the four āśramas. Therefore, before proceeding to the next saṁskāra, viz. vivāha (marriage) which is the starting point of the second āśrama, it is necessary to discuss the origin and development of the idea of āśramas.

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From the times of the most ancient dharmasūtras the number of āśramas has been four, though there are slight differences in the nomenclature and in their sequence.⁹⁸⁸ Āp. Dh. S. II. 9. 21. 1 says 'there are four āśramas, viz. the stage of householder, (staying in) the teacher's house, stage of being a *muni*, the stage of being a forest dweller.' That here *mauna* stands for the āśrama of *saṁnyāsa* is clear from Āpastamba's own words in II. 9. 21. 7 (atha parivrājaḥ) where he employs the word 'parivrāj' to indicate 'mauna.' Āp. places the householder first among the āśramas, probably on account of the importance of that stage to all other āśramas. Why he should mention the stage of forest hermit last is not clear. Gaut. also (III. 2) enumerates the four āśramas as brahmacārī, gṛhastha, bhikṣu and vaikhānasa. Here also Gaut. speaks of bhikṣu before vaikhānasa and Haradatta⁹⁸⁹ explains this departure from the usual sequence of āśramas as due to the words in Gaut. 28. 47 where we read 'prāg-uttamād traya āśramiṇaḥ' (persons belonging to the three āśramas except the last may constitute a *pariṣad*), i. e. to exclude vaikhānasa from the *pariṣad* he is mentioned last. Why the vānaprastha is called vaikhānasa will be discussed later on under the former word. Vas. Dh. S. (VII. 1-2) names the four āśramas as brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and parivrājaka.

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⁹⁸⁸ Vide above p. 3 where āśramadharma is said to be one of the six-fold divisions of dharma. चत्वार आश्रमा गार्हस्थ्यमाचार्यकुलं मौनं वानप्रस्थ्यमिति। आप. ध. सू. II. 9. 21. 1. This is quoted by शंकर in his भाष्य on वेदान्तसूत्र III. 4. 47.

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⁹⁸⁹ शाखान्तरेषु वैखानसस्तृतीयो भिक्षुश्चतुर्थ आश्रमः। इह तु क्रमभेदः प्रागुत्तमात्त्रय आश्रमिण इत्यत्र वैखानसवर्जनाथः। हरदत्त on गौतम III. 2.

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Vas. Dh. S. (in XI. 34) employs the word *yati* to denote a person in the fourth āśrama. Baud. Dh. S. (II. 6. 17) names the four āśramas in the same way as Vasiṣṭha and vouchsafes the interesting information that it was the *asura* Kapila, son of Prahlāda, who in his rivalry with the gods, made these distinctions to which a wise man should pay no heed. What Baud.⁹⁹⁰ means appears to be that there is really one *āśrama* viz. that of the householder, that Kapila devised the scheme of four āśramas, so that those who became vānaprasthas and parivrājakas would perform no yajñas and thereby the gods would lose the offerings they received from men and become less powerful. Manu VI. 87 speaks of the four āśramas, the last being called *yati* by him and also ‘saṁnyāsa’ (in VI. 96). It would thus be seen that a person who belongs to the last āśrama is variously called parivrāṭ or parivrājaka (one who does not stay in one place but wanders from place to place), bhikṣu (one who begs for his livelihood), *muni* (one who ponders over the mysteries of life and death), *yati* (one who controls his senses) These words suggest the various characteristics of the man who undertakes the fourth āśrama.

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⁹⁹⁰ ऐकाश्रम्यं त्वाचार्या अप्रजननत्वादितरेषाम् । तत्रोदाहरन्ति । प्राह्लादिर्वे कपिलो नामासुर आस स एतान्भेदांश्चकार देवैः स्पर्धमानस्तान्मनीषी नाद्रियेत । बौ. ध. सू. II. 6. 29-31.

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The theory of Manu about these āśramas is as follows. The span of human life is one hundred years (śatāyur vai puruṣaḥ). All do not live to that age, but that is the maximum age one can expect to reach. This should be divided into four parts. As one cannot know beforehand what age one is going to reach, it is not to be supposed that these four parts are each of 25 years. They may be more or less. As stated in Manu IV. 1 the first part of man's life is brahmacarya in which he learns at his teacher's house and after he has finished his study, in the second part of his life he marries and becomes an householder, discharges his debts to his ancestors by begetting sons and to the gods by performing yajñas (Manu V. 169). When he sees that his head has grey hair and that there are wrinkles on his body he resorts to the forest i. e. becomes a vānaprastha (Manu VI. 1-2). After spending the third part of his life in the forest for some time he spends the rest of his life as a saṁnyāsin⁹⁹¹ (Manu VI. 33). Similar rules are found in many other smṛtis.⁹⁹² Baud. (Dh. S. II. 10. 5)⁹⁹³ states as his own opinion that the sages prescribe saṁnyāsa after the 70th year.

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⁹⁹¹ शङ्खलिखित as quoted by कुल्लूक on मनु VI. 33 say 'वनवासाद्धूर्ध्वं शान्तस्य परिणतवयसः पारिव्राज्यम्'. अपरार्क p. 947. reads 'परिणतवयसः कामतः प्रव्रज्या'.

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⁹⁹² E. g. vide अपरार्क p. 940 quoting two verses of Yama that are very similar to Manu V. 169 and VI. 2.

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⁹⁹³ सप्तत्या ऊर्ध्वं संन्यासमुपदिशन्ति। बौ. ध. सू. II. 10. 5.

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The word āśrama does not occur in the Saṁhitās or Brāhmaṇas. But this cannot be stretched to mean that the stages of life denoted by this word in the sūtras were unknown throughout the Vedic period. It has been shown above (p. 268) that the word brahmacārī occurs in the Ṛgveda and the Atharvaveda and that brahmacarya is mentioned in the Tai. S., the Śat. Br. and other ancient Vedic works. So the stage of brahmacarya was wellknown in the remotest past. The fact that Agni is said to be 'the gṛhapati in our house' (Ṛg. II. 1. 2)⁹⁹⁴ and the fact that in the famous verse (Ṛg. X. 85. 36) which is employed even today in the marriage ceremony the husband says to the bride when taking hold of her hand that the gods gave her to him for gārhapatya (for attaining the position of a house-owner or householder) establish that the second stage of the householder was well-known to the Ṛgveda. There is nothing in the Vedic Literature expressly corresponding to the vānaprastha. It may however be stated that the Tāṇḍya Mahābrāhmaṇa 14. 4. 7 says that vaikhānasa sages were the favourites of Indra and that one Rahasya Devamalimluc killed them in a place called Munimaraṇa. Vaikhānasa means 'vānaprastha' in the sūtras and it is possible that this is the germ of the idea of vānaprastha. 'Yati' used in the sūtras and smṛtis to indicate the fourth āśrama of saṁnyāsa does occur in the oldest Vedic texts. But there the meaning appears to be different. In the Ṛg. the word 'yati' occurs several times. But the sense is doubtful. Ṛg. VIII. 3. 9 runs 'whereby⁹⁹⁵ when wealth was bestowed on Bhṛgu and on yatis (or 'on Bhṛgu from yatis') you protected Praskaṇva'. Ṛg. VIII. 6. 18 reads 'O Indra, the yatis and those who were Bhṛgus praised thee'; Ṛg. X. 72. 7 says 'O gods, when you filled the worlds as the yatis (did) you brought the sun hidden in the sea'. In the Tai.⁹⁹⁶ S. VI. 2. 7. 5 we read 'Indra threw yatis to the sālāvṛkas (hyaenas or wolves), they devoured them to the south of the Uttaravedi.' The same words and story occur in the Kāṭhaka saṃhitā VIII. 5, the Ait. Br. 35. 2 (prādāt) and the Kauṣītaki Up. III. 1; in the last Indra said to Pratardana 'do know me only; I regard this as the most beneficial thing to man that he should know me. I killed the three-headed Tvāṣṭra, I gave to the sālāvṛkas the Aruṇmukha yatis.' In the Kāṭhaka saṃhitā (IV. 10) and the Tai. S. II. 4. 9. 2 it is stated that the heads of the *yatis* when they were being devoured fell aside and they (the heads) became the kharjūras (date palms). Atharvaveda II. 5. 3. says 'Indra, who is quick in his attack, who is Mitra and who killed Vṛtra as he did the yatis.' In the Tāṇḍya Mahābrāhmaṇa VIII. 1. 4 Bṛhadgiri is said to be one of the three yatis who escaped from slaughter and who were then taken under his protection by Indra. All these passages taken together suggest that the yatis were people who had incurred the hostility of Indra, the patron of the Āryas, that they were slaughtered by the Āryas with the help of Indra and their bodies were thrown to the wolves and that they seem to have something to do with a country where the date-palm grew and that a few of them who escaped slaughter subsequently were won over and became the worshippers of Indra (and therefore in Ṛg. VIII. 6. 18 they are described as praising Indra). So originally they were probably beyond the pale of the Vedic Aryans. If there is any connection between yati and yātu (sorcery) which seems possible, the yatis were probably non-vedic sorcerers.

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⁹⁹⁴ तवाग्ने होत्रं ...... ब्रह्मा चासि गृहपतिश्च नो दमे॥ ऋ. II. 1. 2.

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⁹⁹⁵ येना यतिभ्यो भृगवे धने हिते येन प्रस्कण्वमाविथ। ऋ. VIII. 3. 9. I Keith takes यतिs as connected with the Bhṛgus. It would be better to take यतिभ्यः as in the ablative. य इन्द्र यतयस्त्वा भृगवो ये च तुष्टुवुः। ऋ. VIII. 6. 18; सायण explains यतयः as नियताः अङ्गिरसः; यद्देवा यतयो यथा भुवनान्यपिन्वत। अत्रा समुद्र आ गूहळमा सूर्यमजभर्तन॥ ऋ. X. 72. 7; here सायण renders यतयः as मेघाः.

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⁹⁹⁶ इन्द्रो यतीन् सालावृकेभ्यः प्रायच्छत् । तै. सं. VI. 2. 7. 5. सहोवाच मामेव विजानीह्येतदेवांहं मनुष्याय हिततमं मन्ये यन्मां विजानीयात् त्रिशीर्षाणं त्वाष्ट्रमहमहनमरुन्मुखान्यतीन् सालावृकेभ्यः प्रायच्छम् । कौषी. ब्रा. उप. III. 1. अरुन्मुखान् is explained by शंकरानन्द as रुच्छन्दः वेदाध्ययनं तेन उपनिषदर्थविचारः ... स येषां मुखे नास्ति ते प्रयत्नवन्तश्चतुर्थाश्रमिनः The words इन्द्रो यतीन् ... प्रायच्छत् are quoted by मेधातिथि on मनु XII. 48 and he gives the gloss of some as 'मेरुनिवासिनः केचिज्जनपदा यतयो नाम'. यतीनामद्यमानानां शीर्षाणि परापतन् । ते खर्जूरा अभवन् । तै. सं. II. 4. 9. 2.

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In the Ṛg. X. 136. 2, there is a reference⁹⁹⁷ to *munis*, who are wind-girt and who put on brownish dirt (dirty garments). In Ṛg. VIII. 17. 14 Indra is said to be the friend of *munis* (Indro munīnāṃ sakhā) and in Ṛg. X. 136. 4 muni is said to be the friend of all gods. So it appears that even in the times of the Ṛgveda persons who led a life of poverty, contemplation and mortification were known, and were honoured and called munis, while persons corresponding to them among non-vedic people were probably called yatis. But in both these words there is no idea of a certain stage in a well-knit scheme of life. Perhaps the earliest reference to the four āśramas, though somewhat obscure, occurs in the Ait. Br. 33. 11 'what (use is there) of dirt, what use of antelope skin, what use of (growing) the beard, what is the use of *tapas*? O! brāhmaṇas! desire a son, he is a world that is to be highly praised.'⁹⁹⁸ Here it is clear that *ajina* refers to brahmacarya, *śmaśrūṇi* to vānaprasthas (since according to Manu VI. 6 and Gaut. III. 33 the vānaprastha had to grow his hair, beard and nails). Therefore 'malam' and 'tapas' must be taken respectively as indicating the householder and the saṁnyāsin. A much clearer reference to three āśramas occurs in the Chāndogya⁹⁹⁹ Up. II. 23. 1 'there are three branches of dharma, the first (is constituted by) sacrifice, study and charity (i. e. by the stage of householder), the second is (constituted by the performance of) *tapas* (i. e.

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the vānaprastha), the third is the brahmacārī staying in the house of his teacher and wearing himself out till death in the teacher's house; all these attain to the worlds of the meritorious; but one who (has correctly understood *brahma*) and abides in it attains immortality'. Tapas is a characteristic of both vānaprastha and parivrājaka. Therefore in this passage it is possible to hold that the three āśramas (of student, householder and vānaprastha) are mentioned. The last clause about 'brahmasaṁstha' differentiates the three āśramas from him who has knowledge of brahma and holds fast by it. That portion says that the consequence of the knowledge of brahma is immortality ; but it does not say expressly or impliedly that the stage of parivrājaka is a means of attaining the knowledge of brahma. So one may doubt whether saṁnyāsa as an āśrama is spoken of here, but there can be no doubt that the other three are clearly indicated here. Probably in the time of the Chāndogya there was no clear line of demarcation between the āśramas of *vānaprastha* and *saṁnyāsa* and they rather coalesced into each other. Chān. Up. V. 10. 1 and Bṛ. Up. VI. 2. 15 support this conclusion¹⁰⁰⁰. In the Bṛ. Up. III. 5. 1 there is a reference to brāhmaṇas who on apprehending correctly the Supreme Spirit turn away from the desires of progeny, wealth and of securing holy worlds and practise begging. Begging is a characteristic of saṁnyāsa in the sūtras. Yājñavalkya in the Bṛ. Up. IV. 5. 2.

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tells his wife Maitreyī that he was going into a life of *pravrajyā* from being a householder. Muṇḍaka Up. I. 2. 11 refers to begging for him who has knowledge of brahma and Muṇḍaka III. 2. 6 mentions '*saṁnyāsa*'. In the Jābālopaniṣad ¹⁰⁰¹ (4) it is said that Janaka asked Yājñavalkya to expound *saṁnyāsa* and then the four āśramas are distinctly set out 'after finishing the stage of student-hood, one should become a householder; after becoming a householder one should become a forest-dweller, after being a forest-dweller, one should renounce the world; or he may do otherwise viz. he may renounce the world after the stage of student-hood itself or after being an householder or from the forest. The very day on which he becomes desireless, he should renounce the world (become a saṁnyāsin)'. Probably this passage¹⁰⁰² was not before the author of the Vedāntasūtra or he did not regard the Jābālopaniṣad as very authoritative; otherwise there would hardly have been any need for the Vedāntasūtrakāra (in the Vedāntasūtra III. 4. 18-20) to hold a discussion on Chāndogya II. 23. 1.

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⁹⁹⁷ मुनयो वातरशनाः पिशङ्गा वसते मला । ऋ. X. 136. 2.

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⁹⁹⁸ किं नु मलं किमजिनं किमु श्मश्रूणि किं तपः। पुत्रं ब्रह्माण इच्छध्वं स वै लोको वदावदः। ऐ. ब्रा. 33. 11. मलं probably refers to sexual intercourse. तपः may indicate the वानप्रस्थ (गौतम III. 25 वैखानसो वने मूलफलाशी तपःशीलः) or संन्यासिन् (Manu VI. 75 requires a संन्यासिन् to undergo severe tapas).

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⁹⁹⁹ त्रयो धर्मस्कन्धा यज्ञोऽध्ययनं दानमिति प्रथमस्तप एव द्वितीयो ब्रह्मचार्याचार्यकुलवासी तृतीयोऽत्यन्तमात्मानमाचार्यकुलेऽवसादयन्सर्व एते पुण्यलोका भवन्ति ब्रह्मसंस्थोऽमृतत्वमेति। छान्दोग्य II. 23. 1. It is worthy of note that शंकर explains तपः as 'तप इति कृच्छ्रचान्द्रायणादि तद्वांस्तापसः परिव्राड् वा न ब्रह्मसंस्थः आश्रमधर्ममात्रसंस्थो ब्रह्मसंस्थस्य त्वमृतत्वभवणात्'; while on Vedānta-sūtra III. 4. 20 he disapproves of the view that by the word 'tapas' the parivrājaka also is meant. This passage of the Chān. Up. is the basis of Vedāntasūtra III. 4. 18-20. The Mit. on Yāj. III. 55 quotes this passage of the Chāndogya and remarks that it is the parivrājaka who is brahmasaṁstha that is referred to in the last part of the passage 'पारिशेष्यात्परिव्राजकस्यैव ब्रह्मसंस्थस्य मुक्तिलक्षणा मृतत्वप्राप्तिरभिहिता'.

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¹⁰⁰⁰ तद्य इत्थं विदुर्ये चेमेऽरण्ये श्रद्धा तप इत्युपासते तेऽर्चिषमभिसंभवन्ति... स एनान् ब्रह्म गमयत्येष देवयानः पन्थाः। छा. उप. V. 10. 1. शंकर explains 'ये चेमे...पासते' as 'ये चारण्योपलक्षिता वैखानसाः परिव्राजकाश्च ; ' एतं वै तमात्मानं विदित्वा ब्राह्मणाः पुत्रैषणायाश्च वित्तैषणायाश्च लोकैषणायाश्च व्युत्थायाथ भिक्षाचर्यं चरन्ति । बृह. उप. III. 5. 1.

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¹⁰⁰¹ ब्रह्मचर्यं परिसमाप्य गृही भवेद् गृही भूत्वा वनी भवेद्वनी भूत्वा प्रव्रजेत् । यदि वेतरथा ब्रह्मचर्यादेव प्रव्रजेद्गृहाद्वा वनाद्वा । यदहरेव विरजेत्तदहरेव प्रव्रजेत् । जाबालोप. 4. Vide बौ. ध. सू. II. 10. 2 and 18 सोऽत एव ब्रह्मचर्यवान्प्रव्रजतीत्येकेषाम् । आश्रमादाश्रममुपनीय ब्रह्मपूतो भवतीति विज्ञायते । These sūtras probably have in view the जाबालोप. 4 or some other similar Upaniṣad passage.

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¹⁰⁰² शंकर remarks on Vedāntasūtra III. 4. 20 ' अनपेक्ष्यैव जाबालश्रुतिमाश्रमान्तरविधायिनीमयमाचार्येण विचारः प्रवर्तितः ।'. तपःप्रभावाद् देवप्रसादाच्च ब्रह्म ह श्वेताश्वतरोथ विद्वान् । अत्याश्रमिभ्यः परमं पवित्रं प्रोवाच सम्यगृषिसङ्घजुष्टम् । श्वेता. उप. VI. 21. The meaning of अत्याश्रमिभ्यः is doubtful. शंकराचार्य explains अत्यन्तं पूज्यतमाश्रमिभ्यः. नारायण in the दीपिक reads अन्त्याश्रमिभ्यः.

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It is clear that in the times of the earliest Upaniṣads at least three (if not four) āśramas were known and that all four were known by their specific names to the Jābālopaniṣad. In the Śvetāśvataropaniṣad (VI. 21) we have the word 'atyāśramibhyaḥ'. It is said there that the sage Śvetāśvatara, who acquired knowledge of Brahma, proclaimed the knowledge to those who had risen above the mere observances of āśramas.

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No scholar Eastern or Western places Pāṇini later than 300 B. C. He knew Bhikṣu-sūtras composed by Pārāśarya and Karmanda¹⁰⁰³ and he tells us that the word 'maskarin'¹⁰⁰⁴ means parivrājaka. As sūtra works about 'bhikṣus' were composed before Pāṇini, this āśrama of bhikṣus must have been an established institution centuries before Pāṇini. Buddhism took over this mode of life (*pabbajjā* as the Pāli works say) from the brahmanical system.

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¹⁰⁰³ पाराशर्यशिलालिभ्यां भिक्षुनटसूत्रयोः। कर्मन्दकृशाश्वादिनिः। पाणिनि IV. 3. 110-111.

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¹⁰⁰⁴ मस्करमस्करिणौ वेणुपरिव्राजकयोः। पाणिनि VI. 1. 154.

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It has been already stated at p. 8 that the goals of existence were deemed to be four, viz. dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. The highest goal was mokṣa. All ancient Indian philosophy (whether Vedānta, Sāṁkhya or Nyāya) held that liberation from the never-ending cycle of births and deaths, and escape from the three kinds of *duḥkha* were the highest good. The *summum bonum* consisted in non-return (anāvṛttiḥ) to the world of pleasures and sorrows. The Chān. Up.¹⁰⁰⁵ VIII. 15. 1 winds up with the words 'and he does not return'. The Bṛ. Up. VI. 2. 15, Praśna Up. I. 10 and others say the same. This supreme goal had fascinated all noble minds in whatever sphere of life they might have been working. The greatest poet and dramatist of classical Sanskrit ends his most famous drama (the Śākuntala) with the prayer 'may self-existent God Śiva destroy for me rebirth'.¹⁰⁰⁶ This state of liberation or release is variously called mokṣa or mukti, amṛtatva, niḥśreyasa, kaivalya (by the Sāṁkhyas) or apavarga (Nyāyasūtra I. 1. 2). For attaining this state man must know and realize that there is only one Reality underlying all existence (and no plurality) and become disgusted with the passions and temptations of the world i. e. he must have *nirveda* and *vairāgya* (as stated in the Bṛ. Up. III. 5. 1 or Muṇḍaka I. 2. 12). Merely reading from the books that desirelessness is necessary for release and immediately giving up the world would not serve the purpose. The man would be hankering, as the Bhagavadgītā says, after pleasures he has renounced. Therefore the ancient Indian writers devised according to their lights a scheme which is embodied in the theory and practice of the āśramas. In brahmacarya the individual goes through the discipline of the will and the emotions, makes himself acquainted with the literary treasures of the past and learns obedience, respect, plain living and high thinking. Then 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 useful, industrious and worthy citizen, the founder of a family. It is supposed that by the time he is fifty years or so he has become convinced of the futility of human appetites and the pleasures of the world and is, therefore, called upon to resort to a forest life for pondering over the great problem of the life hereafter and to accustom himself to self-abnegation, austerities and a harmless life. This would lead on to the last stage, viz. saṁnyāsa. He may succeed in this very life in realizing the supreme goal of mokṣa or he may have to continue to rise in spiritual height until after several births and deaths the goal is in view. The theory of varṇa dealt with man as a member of the Aryan society and laid down what his rights, functions, privileges, responsibilities and duties were as a member of that society. It was addressed to man in the mass. The theory of āśramas addressed itself to the individual. It tells him what his spiritual goal is, how he is to order his life and what preparations are required to attain that goal. The theory of āśramas was truly a sublime conception and if owing to the exigencies of the times, the conflicts of interests and distractions of life, the scheme could not even in ancient times be carried out fully by every individual and seems to have failed in modern times, the fault does not lie with the originators of this conception. Deussen was constrained to say (in E. R. E. under āśrama) 'how far the practice corresponded to this theory given in Manu and other law books, we do not know; but we are free to confess that in our opinion the whole history of mankind has not much that equals the grandeur of this thought' and again in 'The Philosophy of the Upaniṣads' (tr. by Geden, 1906) p. 367 'the entire history of mankind does not produce much that approaches in grandeur to this thought'.

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¹⁰⁰⁵ न च पुनरावर्तते । छा. उ. VIII. 15. 1.

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¹⁰⁰⁶ ममापि च क्षपयतु नीलोहितः पुनर्भवं परिगतशक्तिरात्मभूः ॥ शाकुन्तल VII.

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The three āśramas of householder, forest hermit and saṁnyāsa will be dealt with in detail hereafter. Only one question about āśramas in general remains to be discussed. With reference to the four āśramas, there are three different points of view (*pakṣas*) viz. *samuccaya* (orderly co-ordination), *vikalpa* (option) and *bādha* (annulment or contradiction). Those who hold the first view (*samuccaya*) say that a person can resort to the four āśramas one after another in order and that he cannot drop any one or more and pass on to the next nor can he resort to the householder's life after becoming a saṁnyāsin (vide Dakṣa I. 8-9, Vedāntasūtra III. 4. 40) e. g. a man cannot take saṁnyāsa immediately after brahmacarya. Manu (IV. 1, VI. 1. 33-37, 87-88) is the prime supporter of this view. The first part of the Jābālopaniṣad quoted above refers to this view. This view does not regard marriage and sexual life as impure or inferior to asceticism and on the contrary places it on a higher plane than asceticism. On the whole the tendency of most of the dharmaśāstra works is to glorify the status of an house-holder and push into the background the two āśramas of vānaprastha and saṁnyāsa, so much so that certain works say that these are forbidden in the Kali age. The second view is that there is an option after brahmacarya i. e. a man may become a *parivrājaka* immediately after he finishes his study or immediately after the householder's way of life. This view is put forward by the Jābālopaniṣad as an alternative to the first view of *samuccaya*. This is the view also of Vasiṣṭha VII. 3, Laghu Viṣṇu III. 1, and Yāj. III. 56. Āp. Dh. S. (II. 9. 21. 7-8 and II. 9. 22. 7-8) seems to favour this view. The third view of *bādha* is held by the ancient dharma-sūtras of Gautama¹⁰⁰⁷ and Baudhāyana. They hold that there is really one āśrama viz. that of the householder (*brahmacarya* being only preparatory to it) and that the other āśramas are inferior to that of the householder. Vide Gautama (III. 1 and 35) where he first refers to the view about vikalpa (option) and emphatically says that there is only one āśrama. Manu VI. 89-90, III. 77-80, Vas. Dh. S. VIII. 14-17, Dakṣa II. 57-60, Viṣṇu Dh. S. 59. 29 and many others praise the āśrama of householder as the highest. Baud. Dh. S. (II. 6. 29 ff) says the same as Gautama and it relies¹⁰⁰⁸ upon the fact that the āśramas other than that of householder do not beget offspring and quotes Vedic passages viz. 'may we, O Agni, attain immortality through progeny' (Ṛg. V. 4. 10=Tai. S. I. 4. 46. 1) and 'a brāhmaṇa when born is born involved in three debts, viz. he owes brahmacarya to the sages, sacrifice to the gods, and progeny to pitṛs' (Tai. S. VI. 3. 10. 5). According to Brahmasūtra III. 4. 18 Jaimini held this view, while Bādarāyaṇa seems to have been of the opinion that all āśramas are enjoined (ibid. III. 4. 19-20). Those who hold this view (bādha) rely on such Vedic passages¹⁰⁰⁹ as 'one should offer agnihotra as long as life lasts' or 'indeed Agnihotra is a satra (sacrificial session) that lasts till one dies by old age' (Śat. Br. XII. 4. 1. 1), 'one should desire to live a hundred years performing religious acts' (Vāj. S. 40. 2), 'after bringing to the teacher wealth desired by him, do not cut off the thread of progeny' (Tai. Up. I. 11. 1). The Mit. on Yāj. III. 56 sets out these three views and says that each is supported by Vedic texts and one may follow any one of the three. Āp. Dh. S. (II. 9. 21. 2) held the view that whatever āśrama out of the four one followed, one attained happiness if one performed its duties according to the śāstra and after a lengthy discussion Āp. arrives at the conclusion that there is no distinction due to superiority among the four āśramas¹⁰¹⁰. There were some who thought that the householder's life was the rule and the other āśramas were for the blind and other incapable persons. The Mit. on Yāj. III. 56 refutes this view.

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¹⁰⁰⁷ तस्याश्रमविकल्पमेके ब्रुवते । ऐकाश्रम्यं त्वाचार्या प्रत्यक्षविधानाद्गार्हस्थ्यस्य । गौ. III. 1 and 35.

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¹⁰⁰⁸ ऐकाश्रम्यं त्वाचार्या अप्रजननत्वादितरेषाम् । ...प्रजाभिरग्ने अमृतत्वमश्याम् जायमानो वै ब्राह्मणस्त्रिभिर्ऋणवा जायते ब्रह्मचर्येणर्षिभ्यो यज्ञेन देवेभ्यः प्रजया पितृभ्य इति। बौ. ध. II. 6. 29, 42-43.

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¹⁰⁰⁹ एतद्वै जरामर्यं सत्रं यदग्निहोत्रम् । शतपथ XII. 4. 1. 1; कुर्वन्नेवेह कर्माणि जिजीविषेच्छतं समाः । ईशावास्योप० 2.

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¹⁰¹⁰ तेषु सर्वेषु यथोपदेशमव्यग्रो वर्तमानः क्षेमं गच्छति । आप. ध. सू. II. 9. 21. 2 and '...... न तु तज्जैष्ठ्यमाश्रमाणांम् ।' आप. ध. II. 9. 24. 14.

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The word āśrama is derived¹⁰¹¹ from 'śram' to exert, to labour and etymologically means 'a stage in which one exerts oneself'.

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¹⁰¹¹ आश्राम्यन्ति अस्मिन् इति आश्रमः ।. From this sense arose the meaning of 'hermitage'.

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Commentators like Sarvajña-Nārāyaṇa on Manu VI. 35 endeavour to bring about reconciliation between the three views set out above as follows: the view that a man may pass on to *saṁnyāsa* immediately after the period of student-hood (without being a householder) applies only to those men who are, owing to the impressions and effects of restrained conduct in past lives, entirely free from desires and whose tongue, sexual appetites, belly and words are thoroughly under control; the prescriptions of Manu enjoining on men not to resort to *saṁnyāsa* without paying off the three debts are concerned with men whose appetites have not yet thoroughly been brought under control and the words of Gautama that there is only one *āśrama* (that of the house-holder) relate only to those whose appetites for worldly pleasures and pursuits are quite keen.

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