Divisions of Āśrama (b): Gārhasthya

After completing the first stage, the student enters into the second stage i.e. Gārhasthya-āśrama which indicates the life of a house holder. It was essential for all the individuals to have the household life. In the Bhāgavatapurāṇa more importance was given to this Āśrama.^[1] According to the smṛtis the household life is the best of the four Āśramas.^[2] At the convocation ceremony of the first stage the teacher instructs his pupils to resort to the life of a house holder where the people have many duties to be performed.^[3] Some special duties have been allotted in different śastras for the householder to perform. The true dharma of a house-holder is to live with what he gets by doing the duty allotted to him. A householder should serve the whole world with love and affection. He must give up, from his life, contempt for others, arrogance, nature, pride, roughness and injury to life.^[4] The Bhāgavatapurāṇa says that the householders can cultivate virtue (dharma), wealth (artha), and worldly pleasure (kāma) property.^[5] In the Dakṣasmṛti, it is stated that gārhasthya-āśrama stage of life is the best ground to cultivate the dharma, artha and kāma, provided the wife follows her husband.^[6]

In the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa an account of the Gārhasthyāśrama has been presented through the conversation between Madālasa and Alarka. Here, Mādalasa describes the duty of human in gārhasthya-āśrama that a man must nourish the Gods, ṛsis and pitrs and men and living beings daily even as his own body to make them pleased. Having bathed and become cleaned he should please the Gods rṣis, pitṛs and Prajāpati with water in due time. Then he should worship the Gods with flowers.^[7] After that he should please Agni offering bali. In this context some rules regarding the offering of bali have been mentioned. Accordingly, offering of bali to Brahmā and too Viśvadevas should be inside the house. Offering of bali to Dhanvantari, Indra, Yama, Varuṇa and Soma to be casted to the northeast, to eastwards, to southwards, to westwards and to northwards respectively.^[8] After that he should also offer bali to Dhātṛ, Vidhatṛ, Aryaman, night-walking goblins and the pitṛs. Then he should take water and cast it into the places of several deities for rinsing their mouths.^[9] Next to that he should perform the utsarga oblation for the nourishment of leaving beings like dogs, low-caste man and birds, in the morning and the evening which is called the Vaiśvadeva bali.^[10] Then he should wait some time (eight parts of muhūrta) for the coming of the guest and after the arrival of some guest he should honour him with rice, other food, water, fragrant flowers and other presents according to his power.^[11] Here the meaning and characteristics of an atithi are also mentioned. The significance of the term atithi has been presented as: anityaṃ hi sthito yasmāttasmādatithirucyate /^[12] signifying that as he stays but for a transitory time he is, therefore, called an atithi, a guest. One should not ask the guest his genealogy or conduct or private study and should esteem him as Prajapati.^[13]

In this context the benefit of hospitality has been mentioned. Accordingly, when the atithi is satisfied then the gṛhastha is released from the debt or sin of unhospitality. Otherwise i.e. in eating without giving to the guest incurs only sin and feeds on ordure in another life.^[14] Again, the result of non-hospitality to a guest is very harmful.^[15] It has been stated that if the guest of someone have to return with broken hopes then he takes the merit of the gṛhastha and transfer his misdeeds to him. So one should honour a guest respectfully according to his power by giving water, vegetables or just what he is himself eating.^[16] He should eat after he has shown reverence to guests, friends, paternal kinsmen, relatives, petitioners, children, old men and the sick.

The house holders should perform daily five sacred rites called pañcamahāyajñas, viz. Devayajña, Pitṛyajña, Bhūtayajña, Manuṣyayajña or Nṛyajña and Brahmayajña.^[17] A householder should gain money by his own toil, duly please the pitṛs, Gods and guests by faith, and nourish his dependants, children, female relatives, the afflicted, the blind, the outcast, the birds and the cattle^[18] And also feed a hunger.^[19] It is also said that the pitṛs, munis, Gods, living things, mankinds, worms, insects, flying creatures, birds, cattle and asuras are subsist upon the gṛhastha and derive satisfaction from him.^[20] After the bath and purification, the house holder, composed in mind, delight the Gods, ṛṣis, pitṛs and Prajāpati at the proper time with water, jasmine flowers.^[21] And next he should delight Agni and also perform the Viśvadevas’ ceremony inside the house.^[22] The householder should make alms before his eating, he should offer reverence to guests, friends, paternal kinsmen, relatives and petitioners, children, old men and the sick person.^[23] When Vidhātṛ, Gods, pitṛs, ṛṣis, guests, relatives, herds of cattle, flocks of birds and the minute insects are satisfied all of them shower bliss on the house holder. If someone becomes dispirited reaching a prosperous kinsman then the householder gets the sin that has been done by the dispirited man.^[24] By nourishing this entire world, the householder conquers desired worlds.^[25] By worshipping the gods, manes, ṛṣis and guests the house holder gains the heavenly world.^[26] The duties of a householder is to earn money honestly and serve his ancestors, Gods and guests.^[27]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

sarvvāśramānupādāya svāśrameṇa kalatravān /
vyasanārṇavamattyeti jalayānairivārṇavam // Bhagavatapurāṇa, 3.14.16

[2]:

Dakṣasmṛti, 4.1; Vasiṣṭṭhasmṛti, 2.31; Vedavyāsasmṛti, 4.2

[3]:

svāḍhyayāpravacanābhyāṃ na pramāditavyam / deva pitṛkāryābhyāṃ na pramaditavyam / mātṛdevo bhava / pitṛdevo bhava / ācāryadevo bhava / atithidevo bhava / Taittirīyopaniṣad, 1.2

[4]:

agnayo’tithiśuśrūṣā yajño dānaṃ surārcanam /
gṛhasthasya samāsena dharmo’yaṃ munipuṅgavāḥ // Kūrmapurāṇa, 2.42-43; Brahmapurāṇa, 222.28-34; Viṣṇupurāṇa, 3.9.14-16; Skandapurāṇa, 3.2.6; Manusmṛti, 3.77

[5]:

bhadraṃ dvijagavāṃ brahman dharmasyāsya janasya ca /
trivargasya paraṃ kṣetraṃ gṛhamedhin gṛhā ime // Bhāgavatapurāṇa, 8.16.11

[6]:

Dakṣasmṛti, 4.1-2

[7]:

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 26.16-17

[8]:

Ibid., 26.18-20

[9]:

Ibid., 26.23

[10]:

Ibid., 26.25

[11]:

Ibid., 26.26-27

[12]:

Ibid., 26.31 a

[13]:

Ibid., 26.28-29

[14]:

Ibid., 26.32

[15]:

atithiryasya bhagnāśo gṛhātpratinivartate /
sa datvā duṣkrtaṃ tasmai puṇyamādāya gacchati // Ibid., 26.33

[16]:

Ibid., 26.34

[17]:

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa,25.21; Śatapathabrāhmaṇa, 11.5.6.1; Taittirīyāraṇyaka, 2.10

[18]:

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 25.19-20

[19]:

Ibid., 26.40

[20]:

Ibid., 26.4-5

[21]:

Ibid., 26.16

[22]:

Ibid., 26.17

[23]:

Ibid., 26.39

[24]:

Ibid., 26.41,43-44

[25]:

Ibid., 26.3

[26]:

Ibid., 92.4

[27]:

Ibid., 26.22