ŚĀSTRA LITERATURE. The Sanskrit term śāstra means, first, "precept, command, rule"; hence, a treatise in which precepts on a particular topic have been collected; and, finally, any branch of technical lore. Vāstuśāstra, for example, refers both to a treatise on vāstu ("architecture") and to the science of architecture generally; Cikitsāśāstra indicates both a treatise on medicine and the science of medicine; and so forth.

This article will be primarily concerned with the śāstras connected with the three goals (trivarga) that a Hindu is supposed to pursue during life: dharma ("spiritual obligations"), artha ("material welfare"), and kāma ("pleasure, enjoyment"). It is worth noticing that the texts in each of these three categories, to a greater or lesser extent, also recognize the importance of pursuing the other two goals. In fact, a harmonious pursuit of the...