In general, the meaning of Āśrama is the habitation of hermits and sages. This āśrama was generally founded in forest areas, and it is conceptualised with such a calm and quite atmosphere, where, if the others enter, they can be freed of their pains and cares. On his way to Kiṣkindhyā, Rāmacandra found the Āśrama of the Saptajana sages. While speaking about the āśrama, Sugrīva said, “This āśrama wipes away all tiredness and work-exhaustion–
“aśramaṃ śramanāśanaṃ”
Theārama is quite spacious, surrounded with beautiful natural gardens and trees of the forest, and there is no scarcity of fruits–
etad rāghava vistīrṇam āśramaṃ śramanāśanam
But the hard ascetic life led by saven sages within the āśrama, does not conform to any lessening of hard work. So it does not come out that a place of aśrama (without hardship) is āśrama. But the same thing is uttered about the āśrama of mataṅgamuni, that āśrama also takes away hardship and suffering–
taṃ praviśyāśramaṃ sṃrīmat-śrama-śoka-vināśanam.
Several scholars have tried to show that the hermitages of the sages are places of their hard ascetic practice, and that does not derive from aśrama, but these words like śrama-nāśana and śrama-vināśana are used to create anuprāsa, or allitervative sound-assonance with the word āśrama. This epithet is rather applicable to the visitors from outside, who, seeing the calm atmosphere from outside, think that such places are capable of removing all cares.

This notion can be presented with ‘proof’, from the the natural and spiritual position of āśrama, as stated Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata.

From the beginning of Araṇyakāṇḍa, Rāmacandra crosses several forests, visiting the hermitages of sages one by one. And he stayed in several āśrama(s) along with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa. Somewhere for ten months, somewhere one year, elsewhere four, five or six months, elsewhere three months or eight month or fifteen days– in this way they moved from one āśrama to another. Even, they have come back to a certain āśrama, visited earlier.

evaṃ kathayamānaḥ sa dadarśāśramamaṇḍalam
kuśacīraparikṣiptaṃ brāhmyā lakṣmyā samāvṛtam
praviya saha vaidehyā lakṣmaṇena ca rāghavaaḥ.
tadā tasmin sa kātutsthaḥ srīmatyāśramamaṇḍale.                                                                                                     uṣitvā sa sukham tatra pūjyamāno maharṣibhiḥ
jagāma cāśramāṇsteṣāṃ paryāyeṇa tapasvinām.
yeṣāmūṣitavān pūrvaṃ sakāśe sa mahāstravit
kvacit paridaśān māsānekaṃ saṇvatsaraṃ kvacit.
kvacicca caturo māsān pañca ṣaṭ ca parān kvacit.
apartrādhikān māsānadhyardhamadhikam kvacit.
trīn māsānaṣṭa māsāṇśca rāghavo nyavasat sukham
tatra sanvasatastamya munīnāmāśrameṣu vai.
ramataśānukūlyena yayūḥ satvatsarā daśa
parisṛtya ca dharmjño rāghavaḥ saha sītayā.

Spending ten years in this way, in several hermitages, Lakṣmaṇa learnt the art of architecting an āśrama. After reaching Pañcavaṭī, following the path directed by sage Agastya, Rāmachanda says to Lakṣmaṇa in a praisinng tone– “There is no one better than you, for selecting a place suitable for the foundation of an āśrama. Have a look around this Pañcavaṭī forest, and say, where can we make our āśrama–
āśramaḥ katarasmin no deśe bhavati sasmitaḥ.
Now Rāmacandra gave a definition of an ideal place of āśrama, saying that– select a place where there is a source of water nearby, a place which derives it beauty from its forest-like atmosphere and waterbodies. It should be a place where samit and kuśa are available for yajña-activities and flowers for daily worship.” However, Lakṣmaṇa requested Rāma to select the place. Then he pointed out a beautiful place and said, this place is even, looking very beautiful with flowering trees. Deer are grazing, the river Godavarī, inhabited by birds like haṇsa-kāraṇḍava and cakravāka, is flowing by the place.

Rāmacandra mentioned several trees like sāla, tamāla, and kiṇśuka– which shape the corpus of the āśrama according to his conception. There was also a mountain nearby, maountain-dwelling elephants could be seen there. It is also to be noticed, how Lakṣmaṇa made an āśrama. Inside the Pañcavaṭī forest, strong pillars are grounded into a high but even plain. Making a cottage, its roof was covered with branches of śamī tree. Kuśa, kāśa and leaves of water-growing weeds were spread over it , to cover small holes and gaps. The pillars of the hermitage-cottage were made of bamboo poles., and the structure of the roof was also made of bamboo–
acireṇāśramaṃ bhrātuścakāra sumahāvalaḥ
parṇaśālāṃ suvipulāṃ tata sanghātamṛttikām.
sustambhāṃ maskarairdīrghaiḥ kṛtavaṃśāṃ suśobhanām
śamīśākhābhirāstīrya dṛḍhapāśāvapāśitām
kuśakāśaśaraiḥ parṇaiḥ suparicchāditāṃ tathā.
nivāsaṃ rāghavasyārthe prekṣaṇīyamanuttamam.
The āśrama made by Rāmacandra, while living in forest, is similar to the hermitages inhabited by sages, in terms of the natural atmosphere, and the process of making the hermitage. But the ideal hermitage for a sage was characterised with certain other things. In those special characteristics, lies the notion of calling an āśrama ‘a place of peace’ or ‘āśramaḥ śramanāśana’. When Rāmacandra was going to the hermitage of Sage Agastya, from the hermitage of Sage Sutīkṣna, he was delighted to see the atmosphere of the hermitage. On the way itself, presence of plants and trees such as nīvāra, panasa (jackfruit), sāla, aśoka, tiniśa, karañja, bela, madhūka, tinduka– delight the mind with a reflection of the hermitage-atmosphere. Elephants relieve themselves, by scratching their bodies against big trees, there is no scarcity of monkeys on the trees. The deer and beasts are as quite as the leaves charmed by the chirping of the birds. They are not afraid of men, so it appears that the hermitage of the sage was not far away–
snighdhapatrā yathā vṛkṣā yathā kṣāntā mṛgadvijāḥ
āśramo nātidūrastho maharṣerbhāvitātmanaḥ.
For a passer-by who has crossed a long road, this āśrama creates a feeling of relief, it takes away all his tiredness–
āśramo nātidūrasthaḥ pariśrānta-śramāpahaḥ

The āśrama was filled with the smell of ghee offered in the fire or Homa, here and there the cīra and valkala worn by the sages can be found. The woodland, with deer moving about, without fear, and birds chirping, points that this was the very āśrama of Sage Agastya.

Not only the hermitage of Agastya, but from the very beginning of Araṇyakāṇḍa in Rāmāyaṇa, the āśrama(s) are described with the same attributes of calmness and peace. However much may be the hardships of ascetic practice, or the activities and sounds of Sāma-singing, for the people coming from outside, the holistic environment of the āśrama is one of peace–

pariśrānta-śramāpahaḥ.

From the description of Sage Kaṇva in Mahābhārata, it can be found how peaceful the āśrama could be, so that entering there, a hunter-king could forget his hunger and thirst. Even the fearsome animals like tigers, are moving about in a quiet mood. On the watery banks of Mālinī, the haṇsa-kāraṇḍava birds move about. flowers and foams of water float in the stream of Mālinī, and sound of Veda-chanting comes from a distance.
puṇyasvādhyaya-saṃghuṣṭāṃpulinairupaśobhitām
Leaving behind all the soldiers, King Duṣyanta took only the priests and one or two Amātya(s). The, discarding his royal accessories and emblems, entered the āśrama of Sage Kaṇva and found that Brāhmaṇa(s) were chanting Ṛgveda according to the Vaidika pada and chanda. In the yajña-place, there are Yajurvedī Brāhmaṇa(s) , Brāhmaṇa(s) versed in Vedāṅga and the Udgātā sages, other learned sages are also engaged in discussion of śāstra(s).Some people are meditating, others engaged in ‘japa’ or homa– there are fine āsana(s) spread in certain places, and the shrines of deities are neat and clean. Brāhmaṇa(s) were offering pujā in those temples. King Duṣyanta felt that he had reached Brahmaloka–
devatāyatananañca prekṣya pūjāṃ kṛtāṃ dvijaiḥ
brahmalokasthamātmānaṃ mene sa nṛpasattama.