Varnashrama Dharma

In the dharma literature, varnashrama
dharma is the ordering of dharma or
religious duty based on the hierarchical
social ordering of the four major social
groups (varnas) and the four successive
stages of life (ashramas). According to
this theory, all people would be able to
discern their social status and appropriate function based on their social class
and stage of life. The interrelationship
between these two sets of categories is
often used to denote traditional Hindu
society, in theory if not always in fact.
The term survives in modern times,
but because the doctrine of the
ashramas is now largely ignored, those
who uphold varnashrama dharma are
primarily defending the hierarchical
social divisions commonly known as the
caste system.