The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (252 page)

(Skt., ‘goal’, ‘advantage’, ‘wealth’).
1
In Hinduism, a goal of life. There are four traditional arthas;
dharma
(duty, law), artha (advantage, utility, goal-oriented activity),
k
ma
(erotic or aesthetic expression), and
mok
a
(release, liberation). Artha is success in one's worldly pursuits. See also
ARTHA
STRA
.
2
In
S
khya
and
Yoga
philosophy, the object of the senses.

 
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(Skt.,
artha
, ‘advantage’ +
stra
, ‘teaching’). A Sanskrit text concerned with
artha
, worldly advantage, especially the advantage of the prince (
r
janya
) and universal monarch (
cakravartin
).
One of the most influential works of political philosophy, it is attributed to K
u
ilya (or Ca
akya) a minister of Candragupta M
urya.
K
u
ilya presupposes the traditional S. Asian concept of
matsyany
ya
, or ‘law of the fishes’, according to which large fish prey upon smaller fish. The role of the king, established through a pact made with the people, is to mitigate this law by providing protection for all
bh
tas
, all human and non-human beings. K
u
ilya maintains that warfare or
da
an
ti