5.1 Prasthanatrayee, Purushartha Chatushtaya & the Goal of Human Life
Key Takeaways
- Prasthanatrayee means the three starting points: Shruti Prasthana (the Principal Upanishads), Smriti Prasthana (the Bhagavad Gita) and Nyaya Prasthana (the Brahma Sutra).
- Any Acharya founding a Vedantic school must write a Bhashya on all three - which is why Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva each commented on the same three texts and reached different conclusions.
- Purushartha Chatushtaya names four legitimate human aims: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, with Dharma regulating Artha and Kama, and Moksha as the Parama Purushartha.
- The Ashrama scheme distributes the Purusharthas across a lifetime: Brahmacharya emphasises Dharma, Grihastha Artha and Kama, Vanaprastha the turn toward Moksha, Sannyasa Moksha alone.
- Kathopanishad 1.2.1-2 frames the same choice as Shreyas versus Preyas: the wise examine both and choose Shreyas; the dull choose Preyas and remain bound.
5.1 Prasthanatrayee, Purushartha Chatushtaya & the Goal of Human Life
Unit 2 begins here, and it begins with a framework rather than a text. Item 2.1 asks for three things — the Prasthanatrayee, the Purushartha Chatushtaya, and the goal of human life — and they belong together because the first tells you where authoritative teaching comes from, the second what a human life is legitimately for, and the third where it is finally aimed.
Prasthanatrayee: the three starting points
Prasthana means a starting point, a point of departure, a foundation; trayee means threefold. The Prasthanatrayee is the canonical triad on which the entire Vedantic tradition rests:
| Prasthana | Text | Character | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shruti Prasthana | The Principal Upanishads | Shruti — that which was heard; revelation | Direct declaration of the nature of Brahman and Atman |
| Smriti Prasthana | The Bhagavad Gita | Smriti — that which was remembered; tradition | The teaching applied to a human being in a real dilemma |
| Nyaya Prasthana | The Brahma Sutra (Vedanta Sutra) of Badarayana | Nyaya — reasoned | Systematic reconciliation of apparently conflicting Upanishadic statements |
Why the triad exists
Revelation alone is opaque, applied teaching alone is unsystematic, and reasoning alone is groundless. The three together supply authority, application and logic, and the tradition's rule follows from that: an Acharya who wishes to found a school of Vedanta must write a commentary (Bhashya) on all three. This is why Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva each wrote on the identical three texts — and it is why their disagreement is a disagreement about reading rather than about sources.
The Bhagavad Gita's position is worth dwelling on. It is Smriti, not Shruti — a remembered text, not a revealed one — yet it is treated as canonical because of its content and because Krishna speaks in it. The traditional epithet is Gitopanishad: the Gita treated as an Upanishad. Its colophons call it Brahmavidyayam Yogashastre — "in the knowledge of Brahman, in the scripture of Yoga" — which places it in both categories at once.
Purushartha Chatushtaya: the four aims
Purusha here means the human person; artha means aim, object or value. The four Purusharthas are the aims a human life may legitimately pursue.
| # | Purushartha | Meaning | Domain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dharma | Righteousness, duty, ethical order, that which upholds | The regulating principle |
| 2 | Artha | Wealth, security, livelihood, power, resources | The material means |
| 3 | Kama | Desire, pleasure, aesthetic and emotional fulfilment | The affective life |
| 4 | Moksha | Liberation, freedom from bondage and rebirth | The final end |
Three structural points, and each of them is an exam item in its own right:
1. Artha and Kama are legitimate, not tolerated. Indian thought does not treat wealth and desire as concessions to weakness. They are genuine human aims with their own literatures — the Arthashastra, the Kamasutra. A yoga tradition that told householders their material and emotional lives were obstacles would have had nothing to say to most of the people it addressed.
2. Dharma regulates Artha and Kama. The ordering is not chronological but normative: wealth and desire pursued within Dharma are legitimate, pursued outside it they bind. This is precisely Krishna's line in the Gita — "Dharma-aviruddho bhuteshu kamo'smi", "I am desire not opposed to Dharma" (BG 7.11).
3. Moksha is the Parama Purushartha. The other three are Preyas, terminating within the world; Moksha alone is Shreyas. The first three are also sometimes called the Trivarga (the group of three), with Moksha standing apart from them.
The Ashrama distribution
The four aims are distributed across the four stages of life so that none is neglected and none permanently dominates:
| Ashrama | Years (traditional) | Purushartha emphasised |
|---|---|---|
| Brahmacharya — studentship | 0–25 | Dharma (learning it) |
| Grihastha — householder | 25–50 | Artha and Kama, within Dharma |
| Vanaprastha — forest-dweller | 50–75 | Withdrawal from Artha/Kama; turning toward Moksha |
| Sannyasa — renunciation | 75+ | Moksha alone |
The Grihastha stage is traditionally called the support of all the others, since the other three depend materially upon it — a point worth making when a student assumes yoga requires renunciation.
The goal of human life
All three sources converge, and it is worth being able to state the convergence in each vocabulary:
| Tradition | Term | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Upanishads / Vedanta | Moksha, Mukti | Realisation of the identity or communion of Atman and Brahman; end of Avidya |
| Bhagavad Gita | Moksha through Karma, Bhakti or Jnana | Brahmi Sthiti (BG 2.72) — established in Brahman, undeluded even at the last hour |
| Samkhya–Yoga | Kaivalya | Isolation of Purusha in its own nature; Pratiprasava of the Gunas (PYS 4.34) |
| Nyaya–Vaisheshika | Apavarga | Absolute cessation of pain |
| Buddhism | Nirvana | Extinction of craving |
| Jainism | Kevala Jnana / Moksha | Complete shedding of karmic matter |
Do not blur Kaivalya into Moksha. In Vedanta, liberation is the realisation of identity or of communion with Brahman. In Samkhya–Yoga there is nothing to unite with: Purusha was never actually bound, and Kaivalya is the ending of a mistaken identification — aloneness, not union. A Level 3 candidate who explains Kaivalya as "merging with the divine" has imported Vedanta into a Samkhya text, and an evaluator should catch it.
The Kathopanishad's version: Shreyas and Preyas
Kathopanishad 1.2.1–2 states the same structure as a choice put to every human being:
"The good (Shreyas) is one thing, the pleasant (Preyas) another; both bind a person, with different results. Of the two, it is well for one who takes the good; one who chooses the pleasant fails of the goal."
- The Dheera (the wise, the steady) examines both and chooses Shreyas.
- The Manda (the dull) chooses Preyas out of attachment and gain, and comes to grief.
Mapped onto the Purusharthas: Artha and Kama pursued without Dharma are Preyas; Dharma and Moksha are Shreyas. The Kathopanishad is not condemning pleasure — it is describing what happens when the criterion of choice is pleasantness rather than good.
Summary of Exam-Key Points
- Prasthanatrayee: Upanishads (Shruti), Bhagavad Gita (Smriti), Brahma Sutra (Nyaya).
- An Acharya founding a Vedantic school must write a Bhashya on all three.
- Purushartha Chatushtaya: Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha. First three = Trivarga; Moksha = Parama Purushartha.
- Dharma regulates Artha and Kama; BG 7.11 Dharma-aviruddho kamo'smi.
- Ashramas: Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, Sannyasa.
- Kaivalya ≠ union. It is isolation of Purusha; Moksha in Vedanta is identity or communion.
- Katha 1.2.1–2: the Dheera chooses Shreyas, the Manda chooses Preyas.
Which three texts constitute the Prasthanatrayee, and how is each classified?
How do Dharma, Artha and Kama relate to one another in the Purushartha scheme?
Why is it an error to describe Kaivalya as 'merging with the divine'?
According to Kathopanishad 1.2.1-2, what distinguishes the Dheera from the Manda?
Which Ashrama is traditionally described as the support of all the others, and why?