अन्तेषु रेमिरे धीराः न ते मध्येषु रेमिरे |
अन्तप्राप्तिं सुखं प्राहुः दुःखमन्तरमन्तयोः ||
anteṣu remire dhīrāḥ na te madhyeṣu remire |
antaprāptiṃ sukhaṃ prāhuḥ duḥkhamantaramantayoḥ ||
– Mabharata – Shantiparva : 12:173
“The wise rejoice in the last ones and not in the middle ones. They consider the attainment of the ones in the end as bliss and that of those in between as misery.
“Dharma and Moksha are the last ones referred here, while Artha and Kama are the middle ones.
Dharma is the last when the goals are ennumerated in the reverse order. Plural is used in the verse because there are many types of Dharma and four types in Moksha. We have to perform Dharma and strive for Moksha to lead a blissful life. The fruits of Dharma and Moksha-sadhana are always sweet. Artha and Kama are sandwiched in between Dharma and Moksha to indicate that they should be within the boundaries of Dharma and Moksha. When Artha and Kama are attained against Dharma and without being favourable for Moksha-sadhana, they lead to disastrous results.
