Shloka 13

कālacakra-वर्णनम् तथा āśrama-धarma-निरूपणम्

The Wheel of Time and the Norms of the Āśramas

Devanagari script

गृहस्थो ब्रह्मचारी च वानप्रस्थो5थ भिक्षुक: । चत्वार आश्रमा: प्रोक्ता: सर्वे गार्हस्थ्यमूलका:,ब्रह्मचर्य, गार्हस्थ्य, वानप्रस्थ और संन्यास--ये चार आश्रम शास्त्रोंमें बताये गये हैं। गृहस्थ आश्रम ही इन सबका मूल है

Transliteration

gṛhastho brahmacārī ca vānaprastho ’tha bhikṣukaḥ | catvāra āśramāḥ proktāḥ sarve gārhasthya-mūlakāḥ ||

Translation

Vāyu said: “The householder, the celibate student, the forest-dweller, and the mendicant—these four stages of life are taught in the scriptures. Yet all of them are rooted in the householder’s way of life.” The verse underscores that social, ritual, and ethical order is sustained by the gṛhastha, whose support and responsibility make the other āśramas practically possible.

Word by Word

गृहस्थःhouseholder

ब्रह्मचारीcelibate student

चand

वानप्रस्थःforest-dweller (retired to the forest)

अथthen/and also

भिक्षुकःmendicant (renunciant)

चत्वारःfour

आश्रमाḥstages of life/āśramas

प्रोक्ताःare said/declared

सर्वेall

गार्हस्थ्य-मूलकाःhaving householdership as their root/basis

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu (Vāyudeva)

gṛhastha

brahmacārī

vānaprastha

bhikṣuka

āśrama

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The four āśramas are acknowledged as valid disciplines, but the gṛhastha is presented as their practical foundation—supporting society, sustaining ritual and charity, and enabling students and renunciants through protection and alms.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva is instructing the listener on dharma by outlining the āśrama framework and emphasizing the primacy of the householder stage as the base upon which the other life-stages depend.