Usage
This word is generally used to denote a particular phase of life. In this phase of life, the person develops Vairagya or a state of determination and disillusionment with material life. He thus, renunciates all worldly thoughts and desires, and spends the rest of his life in spiritual contemplation. It is the last in the four phases of a man, namely, Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha , and finally Sanyasa, as prescribed by Manusmriti for the Dhwija castes, in the Hindu system of life.