Śānta

Peaceful, tranquil, calm, subdued — the quality of a mind that has ceased its restless movement. The [[Bhagavad Gītā]] (12.19) describes the ideal devotee as śānta — one who is “equal to friend and foe, honor and dishonor.”

In [[Patañjali]]‘s system, it is one of the four brahmavihāras (divine abodes) alongside [[maitra]] (loving-kindness), [[karuna]] (compassion), and [[mudita]] (sympathetic joy). Together they form the foundation of emotional maturity.

Śānta is also a mood (rasa) in Indian aesthetics — the peaceful, the serene, the quietly content. It is considered the highest rasa because all others resolve into it.