Ashrama (stage)

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Ashrama redirects here. See Ashram (disambiguation) for other uses.

An Ashrama (āśrama) in Hinduism is one of four stages in an age-based social system as laid out in the Manu Smriti and later Classical Sanskrit texts.

The Ashram system

Under the Ashram system, the average human life was regarded as one hundred and eight years, consisting of four periods of twenty-seven years each. The goal of each period was the ideal fulfillment of each of the four consecutive stages of life.

The Ashram system

Ashram or stage	Age	Description	Rituals of transition
Brahmacharya (student life)	8-18	The male child would live with his family till he was at the age of 5. He would then be sent to a Gurukul (house of the guru) and typically would live with a Guru (teacher), acquiring knowledge of science, philosophy, scriptures and logic, practicing self-discipline and evangelicalism, learning to live a life of dharma (righteousness).	Upanayana at entry.
Grihastha (household life)	18-40	The ideal householder life is spent in enjoying family life, carrying out one's duties to family and society, and gainful labor. The man in this ashram has to shoulder responsibilities of the other three ashrams.	Samavartana at entry. Other rituals of Hindu marriage later.
Vanaprastha (retired life)	40-65	After the completion of one's householder duties, one gradually withdraws from the world, freely shares wisdom with others, and prepares for the complete renunciation of the final stage.
Sannyasa (renounced life)	65- Demise	One completely withdraws from the world and starts dedicating to spiritual pursuits, the seeking of moksha (freedom from the cycle of rebirth), and practicing meditation to that end.

The Ashram system is believed by the Hindus to lead to a fulfillment of the four aims of life namely, Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth), Kama (pleasure), and Moksha (liberation).

Developmental stages of life				Period	Ashrama (stages of dutiful life)	Purushartha (aims of life)	Description
Saisava				0–2 years			No moral codes during this period
Balya				3–12 years	Brahmacharya	Dharma	Vidyarambha, Learning of alphabets, arithmetic, basic education according to varna
Kaumara (13 - 19)		Kaishora		13–15 years	Brahmacharya	Dharma and Moksha
		Tarunya		16–19 years	Brahmacharya	Dharma and Moksha
Yauvana (20 - 59)		Yauvana-I (Tarunayauvana)		20–29 years	Brahmacharya or Grihastha	Dharma, Artha and Moksha
		Youvana-II (Praudhayauvana)		30–59 years	Grihastha	Dharma, Artha and Kama and Moksha
Vardhakya (60+ )		Vardhakya (Period-I)		60–79 years	Vanaprastha	Dharma and Moksha
		Vardhakya (Period-II)		80+ years	Sanyasa	Dharma and Moksha

See also

• Varna in Hinduism

References

• Friedlmeier, Chakkarath, Schwarz (2005), Culture And Human Development, Psychology Press, ISBN 1-84169-568-8 
• Kriyananda, Swami (1998), The Hindu Way of Awakening, Crystal Clarity Publishers, ISBN 1-56589-745-5 
• Rama, Swami (1985), Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita, Himalayan Institute Press, ISBN 0-89389-090-1 

External links

• The Four Ashrams
• Living the Four Ashrams of Life