ŚB 11.18.1
Devanagari
श्रीभगवानुवाच
वनं विविक्षु: पुत्रेषु भार्यां न्यस्य सहैव वा ।
वन एव वसेच्छान्तस्तृतीयं भागमायुष: ॥ १ ॥
वनं विविक्षु: पुत्रेषु भार्यां न्यस्य सहैव वा ।
वन एव वसेच्छान्तस्तृतीयं भागमायुष: ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
vanaṁ vivikṣuḥ putreṣu
bhāryāṁ nyasya sahaiva vā
vana eva vasec chāntas
tṛtīyaṁ bhāgam āyuṣaḥ
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.