Text 18]
Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening
543
tual duties so that at the time of cooperation both will be benefited. The training of the boy is  brahmacarya , and the training of the girl is chastity. A faithful wife and spiritually trained  brahmacārī  is a good combination for advancement of the human mission.
TEXT 18
सर्वाश्वमानुपादाय स्वाश्रमेण कलश्रवान् । 
    असनार्णवमत्येति जलयानैर्यथार्णवम् ॥१८॥
sarvāśramān upādāya 
    svāśrameṇa kalatravān 
    vyasanārṇavam atyeti 
    jala-yānair yathārṇavam
sarva—all; āśramān—social orders; upādāya—completing; sva—own; āśrameṇa—by the social orders; kalatravān—a person living with a wife; vyasana-arṇavam—the dangerous ocean of material existence; atyeti—one can cross over; jala-yānaiḥ—seagoing vessel; yathā—as; arṇavam—the ocean.
TRANSLATION
As one can cross over the ocean with seagoing vessels, similarly one can cross over the dangerous situation of the material ocean by living with a wife.
PURPORT
There are four social orders for cooperation in the endeavor for liberation from material existence. The orders of  brahmacarya  or pious student life, household life with a wife, retired life and renounced life all depend for successful advancement on the householder who lives with a wife. This cooperation is essential for the proper functioning of the institution of the four social orders and the four spiritual orders of life. This Vedic  varṇāśrama  system is generally known as the caste system. The man who lives with a wife has a great responsibility in maintaining the members of the other social orders—the  brahmacārīs ,  vānaprasthas  and  sannyāsīs . Except for the  grhasthas  or the householders, everyone is supposed to engage in the spiritual advancement of life, and therefore the  brahmacārī , the  vānaprastha  and the  sannyāsī  have very little time to earn a livelihood. They therefore collect alms from the  grhasthas , and thus they secure the bare necessities of life and cultivate spiritual understanding. By