The Asrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution

by Patrick Olivelle

Book Overview

The lesser known and explored of the two pillars of Hinduism--āśrama and varṇa--āśrama is the name given to a system of four distinct and legitimate ways of leading a religious life: as a celibate student, a married householder, a forest hermit, and a world renouncer. In this, the first full-length study of the āśrama system, Olivelle uncovers its origin and traces its subsequent history. He examines in depth its...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019508327X
• ISBN13: 9780195083279
• Release Date: October 1993
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.3"