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Dharma (/ ˈ d ɑːr m ə /; Sanskrit: धर्म, pronounced ⓘ) is a key concept in the Indian religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. [7] The term dharma is understood to refer to behaviours which are in harmony with the "order and custom" that sustains life; "virtue", righteousness or "religious and moral duties".
Sanātana Dharma (Devanagari: सनातन धर्म, meaning "eternal dharma", or "eternal order") [1] is an endonym for certain sects of Hinduism, and used as an alternative term to the exonyms of Hinduism, including Hindu Dharma. The term is found in Sanskrit and other Indian languages.
The fundamental meaning of Dharma in Dharmasūtras, states Olivelle is diverse, and includes accepted norms of behavior, procedures within a ritual, moral actions, righteousness and ethical attitudes, civil and criminal law, legal procedures and penance or punishment, and guidelines for proper and productive living.
The Sanskrit noun dharma (धर्म) is a derivation from the root dhṛ 'to hold, maintain, keep', [8] and means 'what is established or firm'. The word derives from the Vedic Sanskrit n-stem dharman-with the meaning "bearer, supporter". The historical Vedic religion apparently conceived of dharma as an aspect of Ṛta. [9]
Each of six major schools of Hinduism has its own literature on dharma. Examples include Dharma-sutras (particularly by Gautama, Apastamba, Baudhayana and Vāsiṣṭha) and Dharma-sastras (particularly Manusmṛti, Yājñavalkya Smṛti, Nāradasmṛti and Viṣṇusmṛti). At personal dharma level, this includes many chapters of Yogasutras.
The exact meaning of the term is unknown, but it is often thought to mean either "one who has thus gone" (tathā-gata), "one who has thus come" (tathā-āgata), or sometimes "one who has thus not gone" (tathā-agata). This is interpreted as signifying that the Tathāgata is beyond all coming and going—beyond all transitory phenomena. [30]
Dharma as understood by Pūrva Mīmāṃsā can be loosely translated into English as "virtue", "morality" or "duty". The Pūrva Mīmāṃsā school traces the source of the knowledge of dharma neither to sense-experience nor inference, but to verbal cognition (i.e. knowledge of words and meanings) according to Vedas.
A Definition Etymology In other languages abhidhamma A category of scriptures that attempts to use Buddhist teachings to create a systematic, abstract description of all worldly phenomena abhi is "above" or "about", dhamma is "teaching" Pāli: abhidhamma Sanskrit: abhidharma Bur: အဘိဓမ္မာ abhidhamma Khmer: អភិធម្ម âphĭthômm Tib: ཆོས་མངོན་པ ...