Component-I (A) – Personal details:

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy

Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

Dr. Rita Chaudhuri

Dept. of AIHC, University of Calcutta.

Dr. Krishnendu Ray

Dept. of AIHC, University of Calcutta.

Dr. Rita Chaudhuri

Dept. of AIHC, University of Calcutta.

.
Component-I (B) – Description of module:

Subject Name Indian Culture

Paper Name Social and Cultural History of India (From Earliest

to 1707 A.D.)
Purusarthas and Caturasramas in Early Indian
Module Name/Title
Social Life
Module Id I C / SCHI / 09

Pre requisites Society, Aims of Life, Varna

Introducing the learner to the chief features of
Objectives
early Indian Society
Keywords Dharma, Artha, Kama, Asrama

E-text (Quadrant-I) :

1. Purusarthas (The Goals of Human Life)

Archaeological artefacts from different excavated sites like Mehrgarh, Harappa, Dholabira,
Koldihawa and many others in the Indian subcontinent as well as literary textual sources like
the Vedas, Buddhist texts, Kautilya’s Arthasastra, or dramatic texts like the Mrcchakotika by
Sudraka etc drive home the fact that the past humans of early India (up to c.1300 CE) have
produced their food, made their necessary tools, weapons for defence, built up their
residences, made conveyances, clothes, moved their goods from one place to another,
crossed seas and rivers, established markets etc. Thus they have established societies and
become social through the ages. Both archaeological and literary evidences together
establish the fact that the early Indians have utilized the geographical spaces and
transformed them into places with their tangible achievements as known historically. All
these achievements of the early Indians point out the fact that the more they had gained
experiences, the more they had developed and refined their ideas and thoughts in due
course of living through times. These are expressed not only in the pages of different early
Indian literary texts, but also in wonderful cultural forms and shapes like temple / building
architectures, artisanal things like beads etc. Thus, as we do in the present, so also the early
Indians in the past resorted to both agrarian and non-agrarian forms of production for their
consumption and communication with other peoples. This is how they have endeavoured to
protect their existence at what we may call the physical level. They changed their living
conditions through the ages. In other words their desires to change lay at the roots of
tangible or intangible historical developments in early India. One’s desire for well-being at
the physical level is expressed in a hymn of the Rgveda. Thus we come to kama meaning
‘desire’, ‘wish’, etc which one took as a goal to materialize in life.

Suffice it to say that these achievements of the early Indians enabled them to survive in
societies over the years. Now, if we understand that the word dharma is that which enables
one to hold oneself in society, then the early Indian human activities certainly held them. To
survive is a goal in everyone’s life in society. The early Indians were no exception to this.
Purtadharma meaning digging tanks, wells, distributing food etc gradually gained popularity
with the passage of time from the Rgvedic days when costly Vedic sacrifices had to be
performed.

Again, as said above, the early Indian historical experiences drive home the fact that they
provided for themselves material wealth in order to ensure their existence in the world. For, it
is proverbially true that one cannot survive without material wealth. This is also supported by
the texts like Chandyogya Upanisad, Mahabharata etc. The householder of the past also
required material wealth like land, house, gold, and many other useful things which were
generated in early India. Both agrarian and non-agrarian productions, inland and overseas
trade and commerce enabled the early Indians to earn their material wealth. This wealth
sustained them. This is understandable from early Indian archaeological and literary sources
from as early as the pre-Harappan days down the ages. Thus we come to artha.

In early Indian historical phenomena it is noticeable that the people have endeavoured to
surpass their limits in several areas from as early as the pre-Harappan days. They have
surpassed their limits as food-gatherers and become food-producers. They have advanced
technologies in order to surpass their limits in producing useful things for making daily life
easier. They have made wheeled cars in order to surpass the limits of their feet. They have
made groups/organizations in order to surpass the limits of individual capacity for the
successful performance of worldly works. They have resorted to the use of coins for
surpassing the limits of transactions/exchanges without coins. They have resorted to the
king/kingdom in order to get rid of chaotic situations. Side by side they have also
endeavoured to realize the formless and materialize it by way of producing visual cultural
forms as seen in the Mathura image of the Buddha, the wonderful architectural styles of
temples of Odisha, south India and many other visual art pieces of early India. Thus it
appears that early Indians have shown the conscious endeavours to surpass their various
limits in real life situations through the ages. This surpassing consciousness may lead one to
salvation or liberation or what we may call moksa from the limits of his state in worldly
affairs.

Therefore the early Indian historical situations show that the people had four purusarthas or
life’s goals such as dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (desires) and moksa
(salvation/liberation). Initially, the three goals together constituted ‘triple set’ or trivarga. The
scheme became four when the fourth goal, that is, moksa was added to the ‘triple set’ and
so it came to be known as caturvarga. It is also apparent that the people played different
roles in holding early Indian societies over the years. Naturally their social positions also
differed according as the situations had changed with their material achievements through
times. It is said that these four purusarthas or goals may be achieved in life through four
stages such as brahmacarya (celibacy), garhasthya (householder), vanaprastha (renouncer)
and sannyasa (hermit). These four stages have been coded as asramas in the Indian
tradition.

2. Meaning of the Word Asrama

The word asrama may be derived from the verb sram meaning ‘to become weary’, ‘to exert
oneself’. Thus it is said that asrama means ‘religious exertion’. However, in early Indian
literary tradition the word asrama is used to mean ‘both a residence for and a mode of life’. It
is associated with ‘religious exertion’. According to Patrick Olivelle, the word asrama meant
‘a residence for religious exertion’. Its meaning as ‘a mode of life’ is confined to the ‘asrama
system’. It was a Brahmanical idea and associated with the life and obligations of the
Brahmanical householder, particularly those Brahmanas who dedicated their lives to
religious activities in ‘an extraordinary manner’ in places away from the din and bustle of the
village or town.

3. Looking into the Background

According to Patrick Olivelle, it is to be noted that the society of the days of the Vedas
contained different groups of people. There were non-Aryan elements in the society of the
day. The society was expanded geographically in the regions of the south, east and thus
included many new peoples and their rituals and beliefs, cultures. According to J. Gonda, the
Vedic literature does not provide us with a complete picture of early Indian religious life. Nor
does it give us an idea of the languages of the people in general. Gradually the upper
Gangetic region witnessed socio-economic changes during the period from the sixth century
to the fourth century BCE. The monarchical powers emerged with military networks that
included large territories. Cities emerged. Traders established professional networks.
Urbanization occurred in the Gnagetic region. Side by side there were the ideologies of
Jainism and Buddhism in the society of the day. These changes put challenges to the Vedic
religious world of sacrifice. It is learnt that the Brahmanical religion changed because of
these changes in the social sphere.

4. Origin of Asrama

The earliest references to the Asrama system are available from the Gautama, Apastambha
and Vasistha Dharmasutras. The Asramas were those of student, householder, hermit and
renouncer. It is learnt that the Asramas constitute a permanent mode of life. They are not
related to adolescence, or old age or retirement. It is said that they are legitimate and
alternate modes of life. A person can freely choose a mode of life after the completion of his
Vedic studentship.

5. Choosing an Asrama

The Vasistha Dharmasutra points out that the person who has completed the study of one or
two or all the Vedas and not violated his brahmacarya may choose to enter an Asrama of his
choice. The Apastambha Dharmasutra points to that the completion of an ‘initiatory
studentship is a requirement for all asramas’. We find that a young man could choose an
asrama after the completion of his ‘initiatory’ studentship. The right to the Vedic study lay
with the twice-born social groups of Brahmanas, Ksatriyas and Vaisyas. The asramas were
addressed to the male members of these social groups. However, the Brahmana was the
preferred choice for the asrama.

6. Order of the asramas

Usually it is found that the asramas are placed in this order---Brahmacarya, Garhasthya,
Vanaprastha and Sannyasa. Besides this order of the asramas we find that the Apastambha
Dharmasutra places the householder in the first and the student in the second place.
According to the the Dharmasutras, it also seen that the renouncer was assigned the third
position and the hermit was given the last place. However, as the asramas referred to
‘permanent and adult modes of life’, any young man might choose an asrama after the
completion of his studentship with the Vedic studies under a teacher. But once an asrama
chosen, there was no provision to change that asrama.

7. The Inventor of the asramas

It is said that the asramas were invented in the light of socio-economic, particularly urban
conditions. It is not unlikely that the Brahmanas who lived in urban areas were influenced by
these situations. Thus they authored the institution of the asrama system in the society of the
day. The asramas were created out of ‘an urban mentality’. The institution was a voluntary
one.

8. The Purpose of the asramas

The social institution under discussion was created in order to include the diversities of
religious life as the varna-jati system was invented in order to include by recognizing the
diversities of social groups within the system, according to Olivelle. It is to be noted that the
asramas were ‘permanent’ and ‘life long’. Suffice it to say that family responsibilities are
permanent and the people with families were not allowed/entertain to abandon their
responsibilities. So the system might have been supported by the creators. Even there were
debates as to when a person might renounce the world. Therefore the system might have
been invented in order to cater to the purpose of safeguarding the family life.

9. The Period of the asramas

If it is accepted that the socio-economic, particularly urban conditions might have led to the
creation of the asrama system, then it might have come into existence ‘not before the sixth
century B.C.E.’ However, as we learn from Olivelle, the system was known in the fourth
century BCE, according to the Dharmasastra tradition.

10. The asramas in the Subsequent Years

We find that the asramas were ‘life long’ and ‘permanent’. They came to be ‘obligatory
modes of life’. In the subsequent years the asramas, except renunciation, were for
temporary period. The new asrama system began with one’s Vedic study. It was the first
asrama (brahmacarya). The first asrama ended with the ritual of samavartana, that is, the
student’s return from the teacher’s home to his parents’. Thus one’s second asrama, that is,
his household family life (garhasthya asrama) began when he contributed to the welfare of
the society in general and the family in particular. During this stage he participated in
economic productions, gave the lead to the religious life of the family and thus played his
role as an important member of the society of his time. He also participated in the process of
procreation and looked after the welfare of his children. Thus as the years had gone, he
became aged with the signs of oldness on his body. He entered the third asrama, that is, the
one of a hermit in the forest (vanaprastha) when he prepared himself by practising penance
and meditation. Then he entered the fourth asrama, that is, the renunciation (sannyasa). It is
to be noted that one’s entry from one asrama to another gave him an important signal of
transition in his life.
The second century CE medical text Carak-Samhita refers to the divisions of human life in
such manner as youth, adulthood and old age. Another second century CE text, that is, the
Kamasutra of Vatsyayana, also mentions the threefold division of human life on the basis of
the goals of life.

But the point is : how many years one had to pass in one asrama. The Manava-
Dharmasastra prescribes ‘the first quarter’ of life for the first asrama and so on; but the
number of years is not clear. Quoting the Naradaparivrajaka Upanisad Patrick Olivelle draws
our attention to the fact that one was asked to spend 12 years in the first asrama of his
studentship; 25 years in the Garhasthya and Vanaprastha asramas respectively.
Govindaraja, Medhatithi and Kulluka of later days also mention the three such stages as
youth, adulthood and old ages of human life. In the ladder of the caturasrama it is noticeable
that one’s life goes in an orderly direction from the first stage to the next and so on. One is
not allowed to go back to an earlier stage. The caturasrama is talked about in the Manava-
Dharmasastra, Yajnavalkyasmriti, Visnudharmasutra, Vaikhanasa Smartasutra and the
Mahabharata.

11. Relation between an Asrama and Gender

Our attention has been drawn to the concept of svadharma, that is, one individual’s own
rules of dharma or as defined by the affiliation of his group. We find one’s group affiliation
along three lines such as Varna and caste, gender and age. However, svadharma was
defined according to age after the creation of the asramas. One’s asrama was assigned
according to his caste, sex and above all the social context in which he was born. It became
so when the asrama system became a part and parcel of the Brahmanical tradition. Women
were kept away from the Vedic study. They were considered at par with the Sudras, dogs
and cows. Their minds were uncontrollable. They were guarded by their fathers in their
childhood days, husbands in their youth days, and sons in their old ages. They could not
perform ritual activities independently as they were not fit on their own. Within this
Brahmanical theological environment the relation between an asrama and gender is to be
situated. In the context of the ladder of the asramas leading to liberation we find males to
have been given the superior status in society.

Side by side it is also to be remembered that there are references to women ascetics;
Jainism and Buddhism women monastic orders. It appears from the Kautiliya Arthasastra
that there were female ascetics in the society of the time who were secret agents. Olivelle
draws our attention to Brahmana female ascetics mentioned in the Kautiliya Arthasastra. In
tune with Olivelle it is interesting to note that the Mahabharata contains references to female
ascetics in the society of the day. At best it may be said that women could become ascetics
and thus the element of female asceticism was acknowledged by the Brahmanical
theological tradition of the day. Yet a woman’s such ‘celibate mode of life’ was not
accommodated in the asrama system.

12. Relation between Asrama and Varna

The relation between these two social institutions is clearly expressed in the Vaikhanasa
Dharmasutra. The duties of each varna has been stated in the text. Then we find that the
four asramas are meant for the Brahmana. The Ksatriya may be assigned the first three
asramas. The two asramas are to be assigned to the Vaisya. To note, the Mahabharata also
supports this. At this point it is also to be noted that the Sudra was excluded from the list.
Olivelle draws our attention to the Vamana Purana. According to this Purana, the Brahmana
was assigned the four asramas. The Brahmacarya, Garhasthya and Vanaprastha were
meant for the Ksatriyas. The two asramas--- Garhasthya and Vanaprastha---were meant for
the Vaisyas. Only the Garhasthya asrama was assigned to the Sudras. In connection with
the distribution of the asramas among the four varnas the two important points should be
noted according to Olivelle. Firstly, the Vaisya was not allowed to enter the Brahmacarya
asrama. Secondly, the marital status of the Sudra was acknowledged as a social institution
by assigning them only the Garhasthya asrama.

13. The King as the Guardian of an Asrama

In connection with the duties of the king we find him to have protected the varnas and
asramas of the sublects of his kingdom. The Gautama Dharmasutra refers to the protection
by the king of the varnas and asramas. The Manusamhita also says that the king is created
to provide protection to the varnas and asramas. The king’s dharma was to provide
protection to his subject people; he was also to establish ‘the varnas and asramas in their
respective dharma’ according to the Visnu Dharmasutra. The Kautiliya Arthasastra also asks
the king to keep his people stick to the duties of their varnas and asramas. Early Indian
epigraphic records also support this.

14. The Asrama and the Purusarthas

We have already seen above what a purusartha is and what an asrama is. Now the question
is whether there is any correlation between the asramas and the purusarthas. In this
connection our attention has been drawn to Charles Malamound. We learn that these
asramas and purusarthas are ‘theologically interrelated’. At this point we learn that dharma is
relevant to the Brahmacarya, Garhasthya and Vanaprastha asramas. Now, if the fourth
purusartha, that is, moksa (liberation) is the only goal of the fourth stage, that is, sannyasa,
then the Brahmana student is not allowed to access the two purusarthas of kama and artha;
he has to be attentive to dharma. Again it is said that the vanaprastha asrama is the
‘antechamber---of the fourth’, that is, the sannyasa asrama. Now, if the principal goal of the
third stage, that is, vanaprastha asrama is moksa, then at this stage also one is denied the
access to kama and artha. It therefore appears that in the second stage, that is, garhasthya
asrama, one is to learn how the three purusarthas of dharma, artha and kama are to be
combined and balanced, according to Malamound.

We find that A. Sharma is in favour of establishing correlation between the asramas and the
purusarthas. According to him, dharma is pursued in the brahmacharya asrama. The second
and third purusarthas, that is, artha and kama are pursued at the garhasthya asrama and
this is regulated by pursuing dharma. In the third stage, that is, vanaprastha, dharma is
primarily pursued. In the fourth stage, that is, sannyasa, moksa is pursued. Such correlation
is easy to understand.

However, establishing the interrelation between the asramas and the purusarthas is subject
to controversy.
15. Summary

We have seen above that the more the people of early India had developed civilization and
culture, the more they had come to face complexities in their social life through the ages.
Naturally they have followed the two social institutions—caturasramas and purusarthas—in
order to lead a disciplined life through times. There have been attempts to associate
asramas with varnas in the early Indian society over the years. The king—the apex political
authority—has been enjoined in our sources to maintain the early Indian social institution of
varnasramadharma.