Devanagari: वर्णाश्रम धर्म ISO15919: varṇāśrama dharma
The Vedas prescribe religious practices according to ones varna and ashram. These are called varnashram dharma.
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This dharma is referred to by many names: dharma, karma dharma, karmakand, apara dharama (Devanagari: अपर धर्म ISO15919: apara dharma) meaning inferior duty, agantuka dharma (Devanagari: आगन्तुक धर्म ISO15919: āgantuka dharma) meaning ever changing duties, sharirik dharma (Devanagari: शारीरिक धर्म ISO15919: śārīrika dharma) meaning physical duty and prakrit dharma (Devanagari: प्राकृत धर्म ISO15919: prākr̥ta dharma) meaning material duties. There are four varna and there are four stages of life called ashrama. Therefore, in total, there are 16 combinations.
The Vedas contain 80,000 hymns which address the duties of these 16 classifications. The sole purpose of this classification was to enable smooth functioning of human society while pursuing God. This dharma has also been described in great detail in scriptures like Mahabharata, Brahmachari Brahmins, Brahmachari Kshatriyas, Brahmachari Vaishyas, Brahmachari Shoodras, Grihasthi Brahmins, Grihasthi Kshatriyas, Grihasthi Vaishyas, Grihasthi Shoodras, Vanaprasthi Brahmins, Vanaprasthi Kshatriyas, Vanaprasthi Vaishyas, Vanaprasthi Shoodras, Sanyasi Brahmins, Sanyasi Kshatriyas, Sanyasi Vaishyas, Sanyasi Shoodras.
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