Dharma

Dharma is a Hindu concept encompassing duty, moral order, right conduct, and the principles that sustain life and society. Its demands vary with circumstance, social role, and stage of life.

Karma: Karma is the principle that actions and intentions have consequences, shaping future experience and rebirth. Dharma-guided action is understood to shape karma.
Svadharma: Svadharma is a person's own duty, understood in relation to their nature, role, and circumstances. It names dharma as personally and situationally specific.
Rigveda: The Rigveda is the oldest collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns, composed in ancient South Asia. Its hymns provide early contexts for ideas of cosmic and ritual order.
Hindu Law: Hindu law comprises legal rules and institutions historically associated with Hindu communities and traditions. Dharma exceeds legal rules, though it has informed legal traditions.
Arjuna: Arjuna is a warrior prince in the Mahabharata who receives Krishna's instruction in the Bhagavad Gita. His reluctance to fight exposes a conflict between personal feeling and warrior duty.
Varna: Varna is a traditional Hindu social classification into four broad groups, associated with different duties. Traditional accounts assign some duties according to varna.
Samanya Dharma: Samanya dharma consists of ethical duties regarded as broadly applicable, such as truthfulness and nonviolence. It contrasts shared moral obligations with role-specific duties.
Dharmasutras: The Dharmasutras are early Sanskrit texts that set out rules and duties for religious and social life. They systematize duties and conduct in compact normative texts.
Niti: Niti is a Sanskrit concept of policy, practical wisdom, and prudent conduct, especially in governance. Niti emphasizes practical judgment, while dharma also concerns moral and cosmic order.
Yudhishthira: Yudhishthira is a Pandava king in the Mahabharata, renowned for his commitment to truth and dharma. His choices test whether strict truthfulness always fulfills duty.

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