Vanavasa ( Sanskrit : वनवास , romanized : vanavāsa , lit. 'forest dwelling') is a Sanskrit term meaning residence ( vāsa ) in a forest ( vana ). While it can be undertaken voluntarily, it usually carries a connotation of forced exile as a punishment. It commonly figures as a harsh penalty in ancient Hindu epics (such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata ) set in a time, thousands of years ago, when much of the Indian subcontinent was a wilderness.
6-407: When vanavasa is self-imposed, it can imply seclusion from worldly affairs to focus on spiritual matters, as in the case of ashram s (hermitages) established by ancient rishi s (sages). When imposed as a punishment, it carries an implication of enforced isolation from society and exposure to life-threatening extreme situations (the elements and wildlife). Rama is described to have undertaken
12-568: A game of dice with them and their common wife, Draupadi, was humiliated in the court before the elders. A chapter in the epic is called the Arjuna-vanavasa parva, focussing on the experiences of Arjuna . This Hinduism-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ashram An ashram ( Sanskrit : आश्रम , āśrama ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions . The Sanskrit noun āśrama-
18-499: A period of vanavasa for 14 years in the forest of Panchavati , accompanied by his wife Sita and younger brother, Lakshmana . This was invoked by Kaikeyi as one of her two boons from her husband, King Dasharatha , desiring her son Bharata to be the successor to the throne of Ayodhya . The Pandavas and Draupadi were exiled from the kingdom of Hastinapura by their cousin Duryodhana and his uncle Shakuni after they lost in
24-628: Is a thematic nominal derivative from the root śram 'toil' (< PIE * ḱremh 2 , cf. śramaṇa ) with the prefix ā 'towards.' An ashram is a place where one strives towards a goal in a disciplined manner. Such a goal could be ascetic , spiritual , yogic or any other. An ashram would traditionally, but not necessarily in contemporary times, be located far from human habitation, in forests or mountainous regions , amidst refreshing natural surroundings conducive to spiritual instruction and meditation . The residents of an ashram regularly performed spiritual and physical exercises, such as
30-500: The princes receive martial instruction from the sage, especially in the use of divine weapons. In the Mahabharata , Krishna , in his youth, goes to the ashram of Sandipani to gain knowledge of both intellectual and spiritual matters. Boarding schools , especially in the tribal areas of Maharashtra and elsewhere in India , are called ashram shala or ashram schools. One such school is
36-593: The various forms of yoga . Other sacrifices and penances, such as yajnas , were also performed. Many ashrams also served as gurukulas , residential schools for children under the guru-shishya tradition . Sometimes, the goal of a pilgrimage to the ashram was not tranquility, but instruction in some art, especially warfare. In the Ramayana , the princes of ancient Ayodhya , Rama , and Lakshmana , go to Vishvamitra 's ashram to protect his yajnas from being defiled by emissary-demons of Ravana . After they prove their mettle,
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