Lobha Explained

Lobha is a Sanskrit and Pali word—often translated as "lust," "desire," "craving," "greed"—which has different meanings depending on the context.

In Hinduism, lobha (Sanskrit: लोभ) is the concept of character affliction that refers to any form of "sensuality, lust, desire" or "attachment to sensual objects".^{[1] [2] [3]} It is one of the five kleshas that afflict the Ātman.^[4] It is one of the Shadripurs.^[5]

In Buddhism, lobha (Pāli), synonymous with taṇhā and rāga,^[6] refers to the concept of "craving" or "greed" that is a mental factor in the form of mental defilement, acting as one of the roots of evil actions—lobha, dosa, and moha.^{[7] [8]}

Lobha is a Sanskrit technical term, used in jurisdiction, meaning "greed for wealth". It has been cited as one of the causes of perjury.^[9]

In Hinduism

The word lobha is used in religious literature such as the Manusmriti.^[10] Lobha refers to material greed. According to the Vishnu Purana, lobha represents a type of spiritual pain of the emotional kind.^[11] Accordingly, "the wise man investigates the three types of worldly suffering, or mental and physical suffering and the like, and attains true knowledge and detachment from human objects, attaining ultimate extinction".^[9] Ramayana advises forest dwellers to give up lobha in verse 2.24.

In Buddhism

See main article: Taṇhā.

See also

• Mohā

Notes and References

1. Book: Thomas William Rhys Davids . William Stede . Pali-English Dictionary . 1921. Motilal Banarsidass . 978-81-208-1144-7. 567.
2. Pali Text Society (1921-1925), “lobha”, in Pali-English Dictionary, London: Chipstead, page 588
3. Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), "lobha", in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 649
4. Web site: Patañjali . etal . 2007 . Aphorisms, Section II of Pātañjalayogasūtra-s . https://web.archive.org/web/20071222115211/http://www.sanskrit-sanscrito.com.ar/english/sanskrit_pronunciation/pronunciation7.html . 2007-12-22 . November 23, 2007. quite :
   अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः पञ्च क्लेशाः॥३॥
   Avidyāsmitārāgadveṣābhiniveśāḥ pañca kleśāḥ
5. https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/shadripu Shadripu, Ṣaḍripu: 2 definitions
6. Book: Kheminda, Ashin. 2019-09-01. Manual Abhidhamma: Bab 2 Faktor-Faktor-Mental. Yayasan Dhammavihari. 978-623-94342-7-4. id.
7. Web site: The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering. www.accesstoinsight.org. 2024-08-10.
8. Web site: AN 6.39: Nidānasutta. SuttaCentral. 2024-08-10.
9. https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/lobha Lobha: 38 definitions
10. https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/manusmriti-with-the-commentary-of-medhatithi/d/doc201032.html Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi by Ganganatha Jha
11. https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/vishnu-purana-wilson/d/doc116066.html The Vishnu Purana 6.5.1-6.