Bhashya
‘वेदानधीत्य ब्रह्मचर्येण पुत्रपौत्रानिच्छेत्पावनार्थं पितॄणाम् ।अग्नीनाधाय विधिवच्चेष्टयज्ञो वनं प्रविश्याथ मुनिर्बुभूषेत्’ ।‘प्राजापत्यां निरूप्येष्टिं सर्ववेदसदक्षिणाम् ।आत्मन्यग्नी-न्समारोप्य ब्राह्मणः प्रव्रजेद्गृहात्’ इत्याद्याः ।एवं व्युत्था-नविकल्पक्रमयथेष्टाश्रमप्रतिपत्तिप्रतिपादकानि हि श्रुतिस्मृति-वाक्यानि शतश उपलभ्यन्त इतरेतरविरुद्धानि ।आचारश्चतद्विदाम् ।विप्रतिपत्तिश्च शास्त्रार्थप्रतिपत्तणां बहुविदामपि ।अतो न शक्यते शास्त्रार्थो मन्दबुद्धिभिर्विवेकेन प्रतिपत्तुम् ।परिनिष्ठितशास्त्रन्यायबुद्धिभिरेव हि एषां वाक्यानां विषय-विभागः शक्यते अवधारयितुम् ।तस्मात् एषां विषयविभा-गज्ञापनाय यथाबुद्धिसामर्थ्यं विचारयिष्यामः ॥
In plain words
'Study the Vedas as a celibate student, then wish for sons and grandsons to honor your ancestors. Set up the sacred fires, perform the rites properly, then go into the forest and become a sage.' 'Perform the Prājāpatya rite and give away everything you own as the offering, carry your sacred fires within you, and go forth from the household as a renunciant.' Statements like these, and many more, teach rising up into renunciation, choosing among stages of life, following a set sequence, or taking up whatever stage one likes — and they turn up by the hundreds, contradicting each other. Even the practices of people who study these texts differ. Even highly learned scholars disagree about what scripture actually means. So the dull-witted have no hope of sorting this out through their own reasoning. Only someone whose understanding is thoroughly grounded in scriptural method can work out which statement applies where. So, to show exactly that, I will investigate the matter as far as my own understanding allows.
Close to the Sanskrit
'Having studied the Vedas through the vow of studentship, one should desire sons and grandsons for the sake of purifying the ancestors; having established the fires, having duly performed the sacrifices, then, entering the forest, let him wish to become a sage.' 'Having performed the Prājāpatya rite, and the offering whose sacrificial fee is all one's property, having placed the fires within himself, let the brāhmaṇa go forth from the household' — and other such verses. Thus statements of Śruti and Smṛti teaching rising-up, options, a fixed sequence, and the free taking-up of whatever stage of life one desires, are found by the hundreds, mutually contradictory. And so is the practice of those who know them. And there is disagreement even among many learned determiners of the meaning of scripture. Therefore the meaning of scripture cannot be ascertained through discrimination by the dull-witted. Only by those whose understanding is fully grounded in scriptural reasoning can the division of the scope of these statements be determined. Therefore, in order to make known the division of their scope, we shall investigate the matter according to the capacity of our own understanding.