Editing Dharma (section)

==Definition==
{{Multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=280|caption_align=center
| title = Dharma
| image1 = Ahimsa hand.png
| caption1 = [[Ahimsa]]<ref>see below:
*{{harvp|Van Buitenen|1957}};
*Fitzgerald, James (2004), "Dharma and its Translation in the Mahābhārata", ''Journal of Indian philosophy'', 32(5), pp. 671–685; Quote – "virtues enter the general topic of dharma as 'common, or general, dharma', ..."</ref>
| image2 = Yoga Meditation Pos-410px.png
| caption2 = Yoga<ref>see:
*[[David Frawley|Frawley, David]] (2009), ''Yoga and Ayurveda: Self-Healing and Self-Realization'', {{ISBN|978-0-9149-5581-8}}; Quote – "Yoga is a dharmic approach to the spiritual life...";
* Harvey, Mark (1986), The Secular as Sacred?, Modern Asian Studies, 20(2), pp. 321–331.</ref>
| image3 = Balanced scales.svg
| caption3 = Law and justice<ref>Jackson, Bernard S. (1975), "From dharma to law", ''The American Journal of Comparative Law'', Vol. 23, No. 3 (Summer, 1975), pp. 490–512.</ref>
| image4 = A havan ceremony on the banks of Ganges, Muni ki Reti, Rishikesh.jpg
| caption4 = Rituals and rites of passage<ref>{{harvnb|Flood|1994|loc="Chapter 3"}}; Quote – "Rites of passage are dharma in action."; "Rites of passage, a category of rituals,..."</ref>
| image5 = Raja Ravi Varma - Sankaracharya.jpg| caption5 = Sannyasa and [[Āśrama (stage)|stages of life]]<ref>{{harvnb|Coward|2004}}; Quote – "Hindu stages of life approach (ashrama dharma)..."</ref>
| image6 = Dharma Wheel.svg| caption6 = Duties, such as learning from [[Dharmachakra|teachers]]<ref>see:
* Creel, Austin (1975), "The Reexamination of Dharma in Hindu Ethics", ''Philosophy East and West'', 25(2), pp. 161–173; Quote – "Dharma pointed to duty, and specified duties..";
* Trommsdorff, Gisela (2012), Development of "agentic" regulation in cultural context: the role of self and world views, Child Development Perspectives, 6(1), pp. 19–26; Quote – "Neglect of one's duties (dharma – sacred duties toward oneself, the family, the community, and humanity) is seen as an indicator of immaturity."</ref>
}}
Dharma is a concept of central importance in [[Indian philosophy]] and [[Indian religions]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dhand |first=Arti |date=17 December 2002 |title=The Dharma of Ethics, the Ethics of Dharma: Quizzing the Ideals of Hinduism |journal=Journal of Religious Ethics |volume=30 |issue=3 |page=351 |doi=10.1111/1467-9795.00113 |issn=1467-9795}}</ref> It has multiple meanings in [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Sikhism]] and [[Jainism]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=dharma |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/dharma-religious-concept |access-date=14 September 2021 |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref>  It is difficult to provide a single concise definition for ''dharma'', as the word has a long and varied history and straddles a complex set of meanings and interpretations.{{sfn|Van Buitenen|1957|p=36}} There is no equivalent single-word synonym for ''dharma'' in western languages.<ref name=lraw>See:
* {{harvp|Rocher|2003}}.
* {{harvp|Widgery|1930}}.</ref>

There have been numerous, conflicting attempts to translate ancient Sanskrit literature with the word ''dharma'' into [[German language|German]], English and French. The concept, claims Paul Horsch, has caused exceptional difficulties for modern commentators and translators.{{sfn|Horsch|2004}} For example, while Grassmann's translation of Rig-Veda identifies seven different meanings of dharma,<ref>Hermann Grassmann, ''Worterbuch zum Rig-veda'' (German Edition), Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-1636-7}}</ref> [[Karl Friedrich Geldner]] in his translation of the Rig-Veda employs 20 different translations for dharma, including meanings such as "[[law]]", "order", "[[duty]]", "custom", "quality", and "model", among others.{{sfn|Horsch|2004}} However, the word ''dharma'' has become a widely accepted [[loanword]] in English, and is included in all modern unabridged English dictionaries.

The root of the word ''dharma'' is "dhr̥", which means "to support, hold, or bear". It is the thing that regulates the course of change by not participating in change, but that principle which remains constant.{{sfn|Rosen|2006|pp=34–45}} ''Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary'', the widely cited resource for definitions and explanation of Sanskrit words and concepts of Hinduism, offers<ref>see:
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0500/mw__0543.html "Dharma"] Monier Monier-Williams, [http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/ ''Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary'' (2008 revision)], pp. 543–544;
* Carl Cappeller (1999), ''Monier-Williams: A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Etymological and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages'', Asian Educational Services, {{ISBN|978-81-206-0369-1}}, pp. 510–512.</ref> numerous definitions of the word ''dharma'', such as that which is established or firm, steadfast decree, statute, law, practice, custom, duty, right, justice, virtue, morality, ethics, religion, religious merit, good works, nature, character, quality, property. Yet, each of these definitions is incomplete, while the combination of these translations does not convey the total sense of the word. In common parlance, ''dharma'' means "right way of living" and "path of rightness".{{sfn|Rosen|2006|pp=34–45}} Dharma also has connotations of order, and when combined with the word ''sanatana'', it can also be described as eternal truth.{{sfn|Jacobs|2010|p=57}}

The meaning of the word ''dharma'' depends on the context, and its meaning has evolved as ideas of Hinduism have developed through history. In the earliest texts and ancient myths of Hinduism, ''dharma'' meant cosmic law, the rules that created the universe from chaos, as well as rituals; in later [[Vedas]], [[Upanishads]], [[Puranas]] and the [[Indian epic poetry|Epics]], the meaning became refined, richer, and more complex, and the word was applied to diverse contexts.<ref name=phph>see:
*English translated version by Jarrod Whitaker: Horsch, Paul, (December 2004) "From Creation Myth to World Law: the Early History of Dharma", ''Journal of Indian Philosophy'', Volume 32, Issue 5–6, pp. 423–448; Original peer-reviewed publication in German: Horsch, Paul, (1967) "Vom Schoepfungsmythos zum Weltgesetz", ''Asiatische Studien: Zeitschrift der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Asiankunde'', Volume 21, pp. 31–61;
*English translated version by Donald R. Davis: Paul Hacker, (2006) "Dharma in Hinduism", ''Journal of Indian Philosophy'', Volume 34, Issue 5, pp. 479–496; Original peer-reviewed publication in German: Paul Hacker, (1965) "Dharma im Hinduismus" ''Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft'' Volume 49, pp. 93–106.</ref>
In certain contexts, ''dharma'' designates human behaviours considered necessary for order of things in the universe, principles that prevent chaos, behaviours and action necessary to all life in nature, society, family as well as at the individual level.<ref name="ODWR-Dharma" /><ref name=phph/><ref>see:
* {{harvp|Bowker|2018}}; "...the order and custom which make life and a universe possible, and thus to the behaviours appropriate to the maintenance of that order".
* ''[[Britannica Concise Encyclopedia]]'', 2007.{{fcn|date=June 2024}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|name="ODWR-Dharma"}} ''Dharma'' encompasses ideas such as duty, rights, character, vocation, religion, customs and all behaviour considered appropriate, correct or morally upright.<ref>see:
* Albrecht Wezler, "Dharma in the Veda and the Dharmaśāstras", ''Journal of Indian Philosophy'', December 2004, Volume 32, Issue 5–6, pp. 629–654
* Johannes Heesterman (1978). "Veda and Dharma", in W. D. O'Flaherty (ed.), ''The Concept of Duty in South Asia'', New Delhi: Vikas, {{ISBN|978-0-7286-0032-4}}, pp. 80–95
* K. L. Seshagiri Rao (1997), "[https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3431&context=flr Practitioners of Hindu Law: Ancient and Modern]", ''Fordham Law Review'', Volume 66, pp. 1185–1199.</ref> For further context, the word ''varnasramdharma'' is often used in its place, defined as dharma specifically related to the stage of life one is in.{{sfn|Jacobs|2010|p=58}} The concept of ''Dharma'' is believed to have a transtemporal validity.{{sfn|Kumar|Choudhury|2021}}

The antonym of ''dharma'' is ''[[adharma]]'' (Sanskrit: अधर्म),<ref>see
* [http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=+adharma&trans=Translate&direction=AU अधर्मा] "adharma", ''Sanskrit-English Dictionary'', Germany (2011)
* [http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html "adharma"] ''Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary'', University of Koeln, Germany (2009).</ref> meaning that which is "not dharma". As with ''dharma'', the word ''adharma'' includes and implies many ideas; in common parlance, adharma means that which is against nature, immoral, unethical, wrong or unlawful.<ref>see:
* {{harvp|Flood|1998|pp=30–54 and 151–152}};
* {{harvp|Coward|2004}};
* {{harvp|Van Buitenen|1957|p=37}}.</ref>

In Buddhism, ''dharma'' incorporates the teachings and doctrines of the founder of Buddhism, [[Gautama Buddha|the Buddha]].