Brahmacarya
idea · 2 works · 2 mentions · 4 anchored passages
brahmacarya · kṛṣṇa-brahmacārī · śabala-brahmacārī · śavala-brahmacārī · śukla-brahmacārī
in the texts
Atharvaveda (Paippalāda)
Ritual studentship/celibate discipline, presented as a cosmogonic and socially empowering force.
The draft-ox, by brahmacarya, and the horse strive to obtain their fodder.
The fiery brahmacārin (student of sacred knowledge) moves through both worlds, the earth and heaven;
Born first of Brahman, the brahmacārin, robing himself in the Gharma (heat), stood supreme over austerity.
Vratisasana
The vow of chastity/sexual discipline, divided into three (or four, in appendix) grades depending on degree of contact with women and marital status.
They are the *kṛṣṇa-brahmacārī*, the *śavala-brahmacārī*, and the *śukla-brahmacārī*.
[VS_29j§4] A *śavala-brahmacārī* is one who has children and marries a second or third time.
[VS_appendix-04j§8] As for the *śabala-brahmacārī*, he does not take a wife during his service to his teacher.