Vārttā
Vārttā · vārttā, “livelihood; agriculture, trade and cattle-keeping”
Grammar: feminine noun; from vṛtti (livelihood): “that which concerns livelihood”.
Meaning: the vidyā (branch of knowledge) of livelihood: agriculture, trade, cattle-keeping and the like. With ānvīkshikī, trayī (the three Vedas) and daṇḍanīti it is one of the four vidyās a king must know.
In the scriptures: in his teaching on the rāja-dharmas, Pushkara tells Paraśurāma how a prince is trained. From those learned in the three Vedas he must learn the three Vedas, the ancient daṇḍanīti (the science of rule and punishment), ānvīkshikī (which the text glosses as nyāya, vedānta and the like) and artha-śāstra. But the knowledge of vārttā, which the text glosses as agriculture, cattle-keeping, trade and the like, he must gain from the world (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 225).
In the rāja-nīti which Śrī Rāma told Lakshmaṇa, and which Agnideva tells Vasishṭha Maharshi, the king, endowed with vinaya (discipline), should sit with the learned and with those skilled in the practice of each, and reflect on the four vidyās: ānvīkshikī, the three Vedas, vārttā and daṇḍanīti. Vārttā is agriculture, trade, cattle-keeping and the like. What each vidyā gives: from ānvīkshikī come the knowledge of the ātmā and of the true nature of things; the knowledge of dharma and adharma depends on the three Vedas; artha and anartha (gain and loss) depend on the practice of vārttā; and justice and injustice depend on the right use of daṇḍanīti (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 238).
In the Śrī Stotra, with which Indra once praised Devī Lakshmī and which Pushkara gives the king to recite for victory, she is praised as all the vidyās: “O Devī, you who shine and give the form of mukti! You are also Yajña-vidyā, Mahā-vidyā, Guhya-vidyā, Ātma-vidyā, Ānvīkshikī, Trayī, Vārtā and Daṇḍanīti” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 237).
Related terms: Ānvīkshikī · Trayī · Daṇḍanīti · Artha-śāstra · Vidyā · Rāja-dharma
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 225, 237, 238