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Hinduism: Social and Historical Developments in Religious Thought

The four purusharthas, wealth and poverty

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Overview

Four puruṣārthas, bhoodan movement and hindu liberationist thinking.

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Key term

Name the four aims of human life, and explain the second and third.

Key term

Name the four puruṣārthas.

Key term

What is artha?

Questions from this subtopic

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  1. 1

    Name the four puruṣārthas.

    Model answer

    The four puruṣārthas are dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. Righteousness, wealth, pleasure and liberation are the four legitimate aims of a human life.

  2. 2

    What is artha?

    Model answer

    Artha is wealth, property and the material means of living well. Pursuit of artha is a duty for the householder rather than a failing.

  3. 3

    What is kāma?

    Model answer

    Kāma is pleasure, including aesthetic enjoyment and sexual love. Kāma is legitimate so long as it is pursued within dharma.

  4. 4

    How does dharma govern artha and kāma?

    Model answer

    Dharma sets the limits within which wealth and pleasure may be sought. Wealth gained dishonestly, or pleasure taken at another's cost, falls outside dharma.

  5. 5

    Why is mokṣa placed last among the puruṣārthas?

    Model answer

    Mokṣa is the final aim to which the other three aims are ordered. The scheme grants worldly life real value while denying it the last word.

  6. 6

    What does the puruṣārtha scheme imply about wealth?

    Model answer

    Wealth counts as good when it is honestly earned and rightly used. Poverty is not idealised, and destitution is treated as an obstacle to dharma.

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