Kama
(काम)Literal Meaning
Desire; pleasure
Etymology & Sanskrit Root
Sanskrit 'kama' (desire, pleasure); the third purushartha, encompassing legitimate sensory, aesthetic, and emotional enjoyment — including love and beauty — provided it is pursued without violating dharma.
Spiritual Insight & Context
Kama also names one of the primary Hindu gods of love, and its serious literary treatment (as in the Kama Sutra) shows that pleasure was studied as an art and science, not dismissed as a mere temptation.