Rattibha

1. The term 'Artha' has a wide range of meanings including 'meaning', 'purpose', 'end', etc. However, in the context of Purusharthas, the purushartha of Artha has been often interpreted as a reference to wealth and prosperity.

2. While the interpretation is not wrong, I wonder whether there is much more to it? Whether the interpretation is incomplete?

3. Whenever I reflect upon Artha as a Purushartha, it is not merely wealth or financial security which comes to my mind, but Power- pure power in every sense that strikes me most clearly. Even wealth is a kind of power, which gives us the capacity to achieve a number of things.

4. One of the famous verses attributed to Chanakya says:
सुखस्य मूलं धर्म:। धर्मस्य मूलं अर्थ:।
अर्थस्य मूलं राज्य। राज्स्य मूलं इन्द्रियजय:।
The root of 'Sukha' is 'Dharma'. The root of 'Dharma' is 'Artha'.The root of 'Artha' is 'Rajya' and the root of 'Rajya' is 'Indriya-Jaya'.

5. Sukha refers to happiness/joy/satisfaction. In the context of society, overall well-being.
Dharma refers to righteous duties or actions as per the mandates of Shastras that give Punya/Karmic merit and in turn, lead to Sukha or happiness.

6. Rajya refers to State and by extension to the Raja or head of the state and the entire administration or the ruling class.

7. Indriya-Jaya refers to victory over one's senses. Indriyas are two types- Internal (refers to mind) and External (refers to five senses of action and five senses of knowledge). Indriya-Jaya means complete restrainment of senses and mind.

8. Each following trait is the means for attaining the one which precedes it. In the context of above definitions, I feel it is very narrow and restricting if we were to interpret Artha as merely wealth or financial prosperity.

9. Sure, wealth enables people to perform actions. But it is not the only enabler for action. Intelligence, skillfulness, political power, are all enablers for action.

10. Therefore, it would make much more sense to interpret Artha as Power or Capacity that enables one to choose to perform Dharma. And such a power could be financial, political, military, intellectual, or spiritual, or a combination of some or all of them.

11. More importantly, in the context of the State, financial power though very vital is not the only kind of power that determines the nature of the State and governance.

12. Therefore, Artha must be taken as Power in its overall sense- financial, political, military, moral, and most importantly in the sense of Danda or the power to punish (law & order), all of which are vested with the State, the head of the state, and the ruling class.

13. And only way such power can be utilized for sake of Dharma, rather than for Adharma is when such State, ruler, its representations have restrained their senses, gained victory over individual desires by aligning their welfare with welfare of State and all its citizens.

cc @Anviksiki @Hindumachiavel @sharmasatyan @satoverma @SaamaanyaJ This might interest you.

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Few typos in the Sloka. Correct Sloka is:
सुखस्य मूलं धर्म:। धर्मस्य मूलम् अर्थ:।
अर्थस्य मूलं राज्यम्। राज्यस्य मूलम् इन्द्रियजय:।

14. Reason I feel this understanding of Artha as power is important is that Hindu society has been trained to perceive power negatively as a corrupting influence. You know the famous statement 'Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely'. But this attitude is problematic.

15.Power is actually neutral. It is overwhelming yes, it can corrupt, definitely. But in itself, it is neutral. Whether it enables Dharma or leads to Adharma depends upon the Wielder of power. Hence, the verse says Rajya & Raja the wielder of Power must have Indriya-Jaya.

16. One who is unselfish, who has his desires & senses under check, can wield power without getting overwhelmed and without getting corrupted. What corrupts one is the Arishadvarga, and not Artha. Artha is a purushartha- the enabler, the enabling power.

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17. But what does unselfishness mean in the context of State and ruler? Does it refer to the unselfishness of a Sannyasin which is nothing but dispassionate? It cannot be pragmatically speaking though that could be considered ideal as in Raja Rishi.

18. The ruler cannot be without ambitions. A Raja who is a Kshatriya is by definition is one who has Predominance of Rajas, but anchored in Sattva. What does this all mean? it means that a ruler's unselfishness, in general, is not renunciates selflessness.

19. Instead a ruler's unselfishness lies in a King aligning his desires with the desires of his subjects, his happiness with the happiness of the subjects, his wellbeing in the wellbeing of his subjects."

20. As Kautilya says:
प्रजासुखे सुखं राज्ञः प्रजानां तु हिते हितम् ।
नात्मप्रियं हितं राज्ञः प्रजानां तु प्रियं हितम् ॥

21. Meaning: The happiness of a ruler lies in the happiness of the citizens. Likewise, the wellbeing of ruler lies in the wellbeing of the citizens. A ruler's wellbeing is not in what pleases him as an individual, but in what pleases the citizens.

cc @ruchirsharma_1

22. Further, why is Indriya-Jaya so important for a ruler and the ruling class for establishing a Dharmic state? Here are few insightful verses from Manusmriti on the importance of discipline & sense-control for the ruler.

23. Manu in 7th chapter says this:
7.39: the King with a disciplined mind never perishes.
7.40: Many Kings, along with their belongings, have perished through want of discipline; while, on account of discipline, many, even though living in forests, have obtained Kingdoms

24. Manu 7.44:Day and night he shall put forth an effort to subdue his senses; because he whose senses are subjugated is capable of keeping his subjects under control.
7.45:He shall shun ten ruinous vices springing from love of pleasure, as also the eight arising from anger.

25. Manu 7.46: The king who is addicted to vices springing from the love of pleasure becomes deprived of wealth and virtue; while he who is addicted to those proceeding from anger becomes bereft of his very soul.

@sangamtalks +Or even at individual level, to practice Dharma, one must have power or capacity to do it. And this power could be Tapobala, Vidyabala, Dhanabala, or anything else. That is power dynamics is always at play everywhere- within an individual and in interaction with family & society

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