[11] THE MALGUDI TRILOGY AND THE INDIAN PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPT OF THE ASRAMAS: NARAYAN'S FICTIONAL REINSCRIPTION OF THE VEDIC LIFE-STAGES
How to Cite the Article: Mrigendra Dewangan (2026). The Malgudi Trilogy and the Indian Philosophical Concept of the Asramas: Narayan's Fictional Re-inscription of the Vedic LifeStages. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research & Reviews, 5(6),113-123. https://doi.org/10.56815/ijmrr.v5i6.2026.113-123
Abstract
R.K. Narayan's semi-autobiographical trilogy—Swami and Friends (1935), The Bachelor of Arts (1937), and The English Teacher (1945)—occupies a central place in Indian English literature. Critics have examined these novels through postcolonial theory, comic realism, and the framework of the Western bildungsroman. Comparatively little attention, however, has been paid to their relationship with the Hindu concept of the asramas, the four stages of life described in Vedic and Dharmasastra traditions. Narayan's trilogy can be read productively through the lens of the asrama system. The three novels follow a movement that closely parallels the traditional progression of life stages. Swaminathan's experiences reflect the world of brahmacharya, or studentship. Chandran's aspirations and struggles align with the responsibilities of the gṛhastha, the householder stage. Krishnan's spiritual and emotional journey points toward vanaprastha and an incipient sannyasa, marked by withdrawal, reflection, and renunciation. Viewed together, the novels reveal a narrative structure shaped by an indigenous philosophical logic. Human experience is organised not only through psychological growth or social development but also through successive stages of spiritual maturation. The trilogy, therefore, suggests a pattern of development that differs from the assumptions of the conventional Western bildungsroman. Drawing on the work of William Walsh, Meenakshi Mukherjee, C.D. Narasimhaiah, K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar, and other scholars, this study contends that attention to the asrama framework deepens our understanding of Narayan's fiction. Such a perspective also restores a philosophical dimension that has often remained secondary in interpretations informed primarily by Western critical models.
