The third of the four stages is that of the hermit (vanaprastha). When the householder had completed his domestic duties, when his heirs had passed through the studentship stage and were fully grown, and when he himself had reached the age of fifty or so and had gray hair, he would resign his family responsibilities and retire to live a secluded life, most often a life of disciplines conducted in forests.

Ancient Indian philosophy propounded four ideals for mankind: love of pleasure (kama), material gain (artha), morality and religion (dharma), and devotion to spiritual pursuits (moksha). The young man is devoted to kama, the man in the prime of life to artha, and the old man to moksha. Righteous duty, or dharma, is considered necessary in all the stages of life. When a man who had completed his duties as householder was about to enter the third, or hermit, stage of life, he was considered to have already given up love of pleasure and desire for material gain and to be ready to emphasize religious understanding.