The orthodox brahmanical teachers reacted to these tendencies by devising the doctrine of the four ashramas ( asramas , " abodes " ) , which divided the life of the twice - born after initiation into four stages : the brahmachari ( celibate religious student ) ; the grihastha ( married householder ) ; the vanaprastha ( forest dweller ) ; and the sannyasin ( wandering ascetic ) 传统的婆罗门导师想出了“生命的四个处所”的教条，把再生族的生命划分成四个阶段：守贞生（独身的虔诚学生） ；居士生活（结婚的家居生活） ；林栖期（在森林居住时期） ；还有遁世期（云游的禁欲者） 。
