Hindu life-stages parallel the varna hierarchy and are codified in the Manusmriti

Evidence

Just like human beings are divided into four varnas, a ‘twice-born’ savarna Hindu male’s life has four stages (ashramas), ascending from the status of brahmacharya (unmarried, where man devotes his time to education), grihastha (householder), and vanaprastha (he dwells in the forest as a hermit but without severing ties with his family) to sannyasa (total renunciation of the world). The Manusmriti, among other Hindu scriptures, discusses the ashramas at length. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1219

Categorization

Category: Definitional Content

• DEFINE: Clarifies the ashrama system invoked in the Ambedkar-Gandhi exchange; the Manusmriti link matters because Ambedkar targets Manusmriti specifically.