58
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 7, Ch. 12]
āśrama , as well as the duties for  sannyāsīs , are prescribed in the  śāstras . A  gṛhastha  is not meant to enjoy sex life without restriction. Indeed, the whole purpose of Vedic life is to become free from sexual indulgence. All the  āśramas  are recognized for spiritual progress, and therefore although the  gṛhastha-āśrama  gives a kind of license for sex life for a certain time, it does not allow unrestricted sex life. Therefore, in  gṛhastha  life also, there is no illicit sex. A  gṛhastha  should not accept a woman for sexual enjoyment. Wasting semen is also illicit sex.
After the  gṛhastha-āśrama  is another  āśrama , known as  vānaprastha , which is midway between  gṛhastha  and  sannyāsa . A person in the  vānaprastha  order is restricted in eating food grains and forbidden to eat fruits that have not ripened on the tree. Nor should he cook food with fire, although he is allowed to eat  caru , grains that have been offered in a sacrificial fire. He may also eat fruits and grains that have grown naturally. Living in a thatched cottage, the  vānaprastha  should endure all kinds of heat and cold. He should not cut his nails or hair, and he should give up cleaning his body and teeth. He should wear tree bark, accept a  daṇḍa , and practice life in the forest, taking a vow to live there for twelve years, eight years, four years, two years or at least one year. At last, when because of old age he can no longer perform the activities of a  vānaprastha , he should gradually stop everything and in this way give up his body.
TEXT 1
श्रीनारद उवाच
ब्रह्मचारी गुरुकुले वसन्दान्तो गुरोर्हितम् । आचरन्दासवनीचो गुरौ सुदृढसौहृदः ॥ १ ॥
śrī-nārada uvāca brahmacārī guru-kule vasan dānto guror hitam ācaran dāsavan nīco gurau sudṛḍha-sauhṛdaḥ
śrī-nāradaḥ uvāca—Śrī Nārada Muni said; brahmacārī—a brahmacārī, a student living at the residence of the guru; guru-kule—at the residence of the guru; vasan—by living; dāntaḥ—continuously