SB 11.18.1
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 1
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
vanaṁ vivikṣuḥ putreṣu
bhāryāṁ nyasya sahaiva vā
vana eva vasec chāntas
tṛtīyaṁ bhāgam āyuṣaḥ
SYNONYMS
śrī-bhagavān uvāca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; vanam—the forest; vivikṣuḥ—desiring to enter; putreṣu—among the sons; bhāryām—wife; nyasya—entrusting; saha—together with; eva—indeed; vā—or; vane—in the forest; eva—certainly; vaset—one should dwell; śāntaḥ—with a peaceful mind; tṛtīyam—the third; bhāgam—division; āyuṣaḥ—of life.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: One who desires to adopt the third order of life, vānaprastha, should enter the forest with a peaceful mind, leaving his wife with his mature sons, or else taking her along with him.
PURPORT
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 vānaprastha order at the age of fifty, and then at the age of seventy-five he may take sannyāsa for complete renunciation. Since in Kali-yuga very few people live for one hundred years, one should adjust the schedule accordingly. Vānaprastha is intended as a gradual transition from materialistic family life to the stage of complete renunciation.