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252 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
creates one. Why were the Brahmins fighting so hard to justify the Chaturvarna ?
II
The Ashram Dharma divides the life of an individual into four stages (1) Brahmcharya, (2) Grahasthashram, (3) Vanaprastha and (4) Sannyas. The state of Brahmacharya has both a de jure and de facto connotation. Its de facto connotation is that it means an unmarried state of life. Its de jure connotation means the stage of study under a teacher. Grahasthashram is the stage of a householder—a stage of married family life. The stage of Sannyas is a stage of renunciation of civic rights and responsibilities. It is a stage of civic death. The stage of Vanaprastha is in between Grahasthashram and Sannyas. It is a stage in which one belongs to society but is bound to live away from society. As the name implies it prescribes dwelling in forest.
The Hindus believe that this institution of Ashram Dharma is as old as that of the Varna Dharma. They call the two by a joint name of Varnashram Dharma as though they were one and integral, and the two together form the steelframe of the Hindu Society.
To begin with it would be better to have a full understanding of the Ashram Dharma before inquiring into its origin and its purpose and its peculiarities. The best source for an exposition of the Ashram system is the Manu Smriti from which the following relevant extracts are reproduced:
Ch. II-36. In the eighth year after conception, one should perform the initiation (upanayana) of a Brahmana, in the eleventh after conception (that) of a Kshatriya, but in the twelfth that of a Vaisya.
Ch. II-168. A twice-born man who, not having studied the Veda, applies himself to other (and wordly study), soon falls, even while living, to the condition of a Sudra and his descendants (after him).
Ch. III-1. The vow of the three Vedas under a teacher must be kept for thirty-six years or for half that time, or for a quarter, or until the (student) has perfectly learnt them.
Ch. III-2. Who has studied in due order the three Vedas, or two, or even one only, without breaking the (rule of) studentship, shall enter the order of householder.