What is Purushartha

Purushartha 

refers to the objectives that are sought by man. It is the attainment of various objectives in human life through human efforts. The term Purushartha is a combination of two words, "Purush" which refers to man and "Artha" which refers to purpose or end.

There are four kinds of Purusharthas. They are Dharm, Artha, Kama and Moksh. These are the four goals of human life. Every human strives to attain these four goals throughout one's lifetime.

• Artha

The first purpose of man is to attain Artha. Artha refers to the desire to own wealth, prosperity and riches. Artha is a social and moral purpose that every individual seeks to attain. Attaining Artha will lead to the experience of pleasure and happiness.

• Kama

After attaining Artha, man seeks to attain Kama. Kama refers to the experience of pleasure through the five senses of hearing, seeing, tasting and smelling along with the involvement of the mind and the soul. All actions of man are directed towards the attainment of Kama. Kama can be mental pleasure, sensuous or sexual pleasure. All actions of man that are directed towards attaining Artha and Kama should be underlined by sincerity and honesty.

• Dharm

Dharm refers to following the path of righteousness and honesty. Dharm is duty and it upholds the society. It is important to develop Dharm as it regulates both Artha and Kama.

• Moksh

The highest objective of human life is to attain Moksh. It refers to the release of one's soul from all material desires. Moksh is liberation, self contentment, self fulfilment and self love. It is the highest and final
end of life that is attained by following the path of Dharm. The last Purushartha of Moksh ceases all needs of man.