(thing) by everyone Sat Apr 21 2001 at 20:57:13
(Hinduism) (Sanskrit)

  1. a hermitage or dwelling place for spiritual shelter; a refuge for those who nave abandoned the material world -- also spelled ashrama; or
  2. one of the four spiritual orders of Vedic society, viz.:
    1. celibate student (brahmacari);
    2. householder (grihasta);
    3. retired (vanaprastha); and
    4. renounced (sannyasa).

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