By Śankara Bharadwaj Khandavalli and By Himanshu Bhatt
Puruṣārtha is purpose/fulfillment of life. By fulfilling Puruṣartha, man gets fulfillment for life as well as sustains the society. There are four Puruṣārthas:
Dharma is righteousness. Artha is wealth and Kāma is fulfillment of desire. Dharma should be the basis for Artha and Kāma. Both Artha and Kāma stand for how a righteous man should contribute to his society and mankind in general.
Self-realization (Moksha) is the aim and end of the soul[1] - Kalpasutra
The Puruṣārthas were also pursuits within non-traditional sects such as Buddhism and Jainism. The Jatakamala of Buddhism states that artha[2] is desirable only when allied with dharma for artha is the root of dharma and kāma is the dominant idea underlying household life.[3] Buddhism in the Mahāprajnaparamitopadesasastra[4] classified humans into four categories:[5] Kautilya the prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya, and himself a devout Jain, classified four pursuits of human life; Kāma, Artha, Dharma, and Mokṣa.[6]
- Those who seek love[7]
- Those who seek prosperity.[8]
- Those who see the eradication of karma (mokṣa).
- Those who seek knowledge.[9]
References[edit]
- ↑ “Swavimarshā purusharthā
- ↑ It refers to Prosperity here.
- ↑ P. 161 New Light on Early Buddhism By Balkrishna Govind Gokhale
- ↑ It is the Treatise on the Great Wisdom Perfection.
- ↑ P. 369-370 Buddhist Critical Spirituality: Prajñā and Śūnyatā By Shōhei Ichimura
- ↑ P. 369 Buddhist Critical Spirituality: Prajñā and Śūnyatā By Shōhei Ichimura
- ↑ It means kāma.
- ↑ Prosperity means artha.
- ↑ It means dharma.