{{Short description|Hindu and Buddhist concept of character affliction}} {{Infobox Buddhist term | title = Lobha | en = "lust," "desire," "craving," "greed" |vi= Tham}} {{italic title}}'''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''''' ({{langx|sa|लोभ}}) ({{langx|my|လောဘ}}) is the concept of character affliction that refers to any form of "sensuality, lust, desire" or "attachment to sensual objects".<ref>{{cite book|author1=Thomas William Rhys Davids |author2=William Stede |title=Pali-English Dictionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Guw2CnxiucC&pg=PA362 |year=1921|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1144-7|page= 567}}</ref><ref>Pali Text Society (1921-1925), [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali_query.py?qs=lobha&searchhws=yes&matchtype=exact “lobha”], in Pali-English Dictionary, London: Chipstead, [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali_query.py?page=588 page 588]</ref><ref>Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/soas_query.py?qs=lobha&searchhws=yes&matchtype=default "lobha"], in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/soas_query.py?page=649 page 649]</ref> It is one of the five kleshas that afflict the Ātman.<ref name="patanjali">{{cite web |author=Patañjali |display-authors=etal |year=2007 |url=http://www.sanskrit-sanscrito.com.ar/english/sanskrit_pronunciation/pronunciation7.html |title=Aphorisms, Section II of Pātañjalayogasūtra-s |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222115211/http://www.sanskrit-sanscrito.com.ar/english/sanskrit_pronunciation/pronunciation7.html |archive-date=2007-12-22 |access-date=November 23, 2007}} quite :<br>अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः पञ्च क्लेशाः॥३॥<br>Avidyāsmitārāgadveṣābhiniveśāḥ pañca kleśāḥ</ref> It is one of the Shadripurs.<ref>[https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/shadripu Shadripu, Ṣaḍripu: 2 definitions], www.wisdomlib.org</ref>
In Buddhism''', ''lobha''''' (Pāli), synonymous with '''taṇhā''' and '''rāga''',<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Kheminda|first=Ashin|date=2019-09-01|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ZQXEAAAQBAJ|title=Manual Abhidhamma: Bab 2 Faktor-Faktor-Mental|publisher=Yayasan Dhammavihari|isbn=978-623-94342-7-4|language=id}}</ref> 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''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering|url=https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html|website=www.accesstoinsight.org|access-date=2024-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=AN 6.39: Nidānasutta|url=https://suttacentral.net/an6.39/|website=SuttaCentral|language=|access-date=2024-08-10}}</ref>
''Lobha'' is a Sanskrit technical term, used in jurisdiction, meaning "greed for wealth".<ref name=Lobha/> It has been cited as one of the causes of perjury.<ref name=Lobha>[https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/lobha Lobha: 38 definitions], www.wisdomlib.org</ref>
==In Hinduism== The word ''lobha'' is used in religious literature such as the ''Manusmriti''.<ref>[https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/manusmriti-with-the-commentary-of-medhatithi/d/doc201032.html Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi by Ganganatha Jha], Verse 8.120, quite: लोभात् सहस्रं दण्ड्यस्तु मोहात् पूर्वं तु साहसम् ।<br>भयाद् द्वौ मध्यमौ दण्डौ मैत्रात् पूर्वं चतुर्गुणम् ॥ १२० ॥</ref> ''Lobha'' refers to material greed. According to the ''Vishnu Purana'', ''lobha'' represents a type of spiritual pain of the emotional kind.<ref>[https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/vishnu-purana-wilson/d/doc116066.html The Vishnu Purana 6.5.1-6.] Horace Hayman Wilson, www.wisdomlib.org</ref> According to Vishnu Purana verses 6.5.1-6, "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".<ref name=Lobha/> Ramayana advises forest dwellers to give up ''lobha'' in verse 2.24.
The Bhagavad Gita identifies greed, alongside desire and anger, as one of the three gates to hell that destroy the soul (verse 16.21), urging their renunciation. In verse 14.17, greed is identified as rooted in the rajas and associated with restlessness and attachment, contrasting with sattva, which fosters wisdom.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Bhagavad Gita: a new translation and study guide |date=2019 |publisher=Mandala Publishing |isbn=978-1-68383-733-6 |editor-last=Sutton |editor-first=Nicholas |series=Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Mandala Publishing Series |location=San Rafael, CA |pages=213-214}}</ref>
== In Buddhism == {{Main|Taṇhā}}
==See also== * Mohā
==References== {{reflist}} {{Hindudharma}}
Category:Hindu philosophical concepts Category:Sanskrit words and phrases Category:Unwholesome factors in Buddhism