śrī-bhagavān uvāca
vanaḿ vivikṣuḥ putreṣu
bhāryāḿ nyasya sahaiva vā
vana eva vasec chāntas
tṛtīyaḿ bhāgam āyuṣaḥ
sri-bhagavan uvaca -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; vanam -- the forest; vivikshuh -- desiring to enter; putreshu -- among the sons; bharyam -- wife; nyasya -- entrusting; saha -- together with; eva -- indeed; va -- or; vane -- in the forest; eva -- certainly; vaset -- one should dwell; santah -- with a peaceful mind; tritiyam -- the third; bhagam -- division; ayushah -- of life.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: One who desires to adopt the third order of life, vanaprastha, should enter the forest with a peaceful mind, leaving his wife with his mature sons, or else taking her along with him.
In Kali-yuga a human being generally cannot live more than one hundred years, and even this is becoming most unusual. A man who has a reasonable expectation of living for one hundred years may adopt the vanaprastha order at the age of fifty, and then at the age of seventy-five he may take sannyasa for complete renunciation. Since in Kali-yuga very few people live for one hundred years, one should adjust the schedule accordingly. Vanaprastha is intended as a gradual transition from materialistic family life to the stage of complete renunciation.
