आश्रमāśrama

आश्रम (āśrama) is a Sanskrit word meaning a hermitage, the abode of ascetics, a stage in the life of a Brahman, some law-givers mention only three, omitting the first, a hut built on festal occasions, a college or school, a wood or thicket. Its 18 recorded definitions are grouped into 6 contexts, among them Hermitage or Ascetic's Abode, Stages of Life / Religious Orders, Proper Name (Person/Deity).

Root: श्रम् (śram)
Etymology: E. आङ् before श्रम to perform religious austerities, affix घञ्
Definitions: 18

View Declension Tables , 48 forms

Meanings by context

Hermitage or Ascetic's Abode

7 definitions

A hermitage, the abode of ascetics

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

1. A hermitage. 2. A stage in a Brahmin's life.

— Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A hermitage or dwelling of ascetics. 2. A period in the religious life of a Brahmana. 3. A school or college. 4. A wood or thicket where ascetics practice penance.

— Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. An hermitage. 2. A religious order.

— Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A hermitage. 2. One of the four orders of religious life.

— Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A hermitage. 2. A stage in a Brahman's religious life.

— Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary

1. A hermitage or the abode of ascetics. 2. A stage in the religious life of a Brahmin. 3. A college or school. 4. A wood or thicket.

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)

Stages of Life / Religious Orders

6 definitions

A stage in the life of a Brahman; traditionally four stages: student of the Veda (Brahmacharin), householder (Grihastha), anchorite (Vanaprastha), and one who has abandoned worldly concerns (Sannyasin, or sometimes Bhikshu); some law-givers mention only three, omitting the first.

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

1. One of the four stages of religious life. 2. A college or school. 3. A hermitage. 4. A wood or thicket.

— Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A religious order. 2. A hermitage. 3. A school. 4. A wood.

— Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. One of the four stages of life. 2. A school or college. 3. A hermitage or abode of sages. 4. A wood or thicket.

— Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

The four stages of life: student, householder, forest dweller, and ascetic.

— The Purana Index

1. A resting-place. 2. A stage in a Hindu's life or a hermitage.

आश्रम (āśrama) [Printed book page 1-068]
Ā-śrama (‘resting-place’) does not occur in any Upaniṣad

which can be regarded as pre-Buddhistic. Its earliest use as

denoting the stages of a Hindu's life is found in the Śvetāśvatara

Upaniṣad.¹ In one passage² of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad

reference is made only to the Brahmacārin and householder, to

whom, as a reward for study, the procreation of children, the

practice of Yoga, abstention from injury to living creatures,

and sacrifices, freedom from transmigration are promised. In

another place³ three states are contemplated, but not as con-

secutive. The Brahmacārin may either become a householder

or become an anchorite, or remain in his teacher's house all his

life. Similarly, reference⁴ is made to the death of the anchorite

in the forest, or the sacrifice in the village. In contrast with all

three⁵ is the man who stands fast in Brahman (Brahma-

saṃstha). In the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad⁶ the knower of the

Ātman is contrasted with those who (1) study, or (2) sacrifice

and give alms, or (3) are anchorites, and in another place⁷ with

those who sacrifice and make benefactions, and those who

practice asceticism. This position of superiority to, and

distinction from, the Āśramas became later a fourth⁸ Āśrama,
Page1-069+ 35

the Gṛhastha, or householder, who was in the second stage,

being required to pass not only into the stage of Vānaprastha,

but also that of the Sannyāsin (Bhikṣu, Parivrājaka). The

first stage, that of the Brahmacārin, was still obligatory, but

was no longer allowed to remain a permanent one, as was

originally possible.

Cf. Deussen, Philosophy of the Upanishads, 60, 367 et seq.
[Footnote: 1) Atyāśramin, Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad,

vi. 21; Maitrāyaṇī Upaniṣad, iv. 3, etc.]

[Footnote: 2) viii. 5.]

[Footnote: 3) ii. 23, 1.]

[Footnote: 4) v. 10.]

[Footnote: 5) ii. 23, 1.]

[Footnote: 6) iv. 2, 22. Cf. iii. 5.]

[Footnote: 7) iii. 8, 10.]

[Footnote: 8) Jābāla Upaniṣad, 4. Cf. Muṇḍaka

Upaniṣad, ii. 1, 7.]
[ID=280]

— The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects

Proper Name (Person/Deity)

2 definitions

Name of a pupil of Prithvidhara

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

an epithet of Vishnu

— Index to the Names in the Mahabharata

School or College

1 definition

a college or school

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Temporary Festive Hut

1 definition

A hut built on festal occasions

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Woodland or Thicket

1 definition

A wood or thicket

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

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Definitions on this page come from 13 works: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Index to the Names in the Mahabharata, Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary, Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872), Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary, The Purana Index, The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon.