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क्लेश
kleśa
Affliction. Patanjali's five kleshas: Avidya (ignorance), Asmita (egoism), Raga (attachment), Dvesha (aversion), Abhinivesha (clinging to life).
क्लेश; पंच-क्लेश।
Hindu thought is built from a vocabulary of carefully-distinguished terms. Words like klesha are not loose translations — each has a precise scriptural genealogy, a specific role in ritual or philosophy, and often a counterpart that completes its meaning. Many of the major Hindu darśanas (Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Vedānta, Mīmāṃsā, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika) refined their vocabulary over centuries; the same Sanskrit term can carry different shades in different schools.
Klesha sits within a cluster of related concepts — avidya, raga, dvesha, abhinivesha. Reading these together gives you the actual texture of the idea, rather than treating it as an isolated definition. Each Sanskrit term in this glossary is cross-linked to the others it presupposes.
Where useful we cite the primary scriptural source — the Upaniṣad, sūtra, or smṛti passage where the term is given its classical sense — alongside trusted modern dictionaries (Monier-Williams, V.S. Apte, Sanskrit Heritage). For practical questions about usage in pūjā or daily life, ask a paṇḍita in your tradition.
The 'I-maker'; the ego-faculty that appropriates experience as 'mine.' In Sankhya, the second evolute of Prakriti, from which the senses and elements arise.
'Inner instrument' — the four-fold internal organ comprising manas, buddhi, ahamkara, chitta. The seat of all mental phenomena.
Discriminating intellect; the faculty of decision and discrimination (viveka). The first evolute of Prakriti in Sankhya. Higher than manas.
Mind-stuff; the totality of the inner instrument (antahkarana) including manas, buddhi, ahamkara. Patanjali defines yoga as 'chitta-vritti-nirodha' — the cessation of mental modifications.
Sense-organ. Five jnanendriyas (knowledge — eye/ear/nose/tongue/skin), five karmendriyas (action — voice/hand/foot/genital/anus). Manas is sometimes counted as the eleventh.
The mind; the faculty of doubting, comparing, and feeling. Distinguished in Vedanta from buddhi (discriminating intellect), ahamkara (ego), and chitta (mind-stuff).
Intense longing for liberation — the fourth and crowning member of the sadhana-chatushtaya in Vedanta.
(1) Latent impression in the mind from past experience or action; the seed of future vrittis. (2) Sacrament — the 16 life-cycle rites (shodasha-samskara) from conception to cremation.
Awaiting paṇḍita verification before final publication. If you spot an inaccuracy in the Sanskrit, IAST, or interpretation, please write to us.