The four different modes of life were at one time weighed in the balance. The wise have said, O king, that when the life of a householder was placed on one scale, it required the three others to balance it.
आश्रमांस्तुलया सर्वान् धृतानाहुर्मनीषिणः। एकतश्च त्रयो राजन् गृहस्थाश्रम एकतः॥