Dharma and its Application in Ancient India | Madhulika Chebrol Dharma and its Application in Ancient India (original) (raw)

The Concept of Dharma in Indian Tradition Published in Anusandhanika (Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities)/ 0974-200X/July, 2012(Vol. 9 (2), Pp. 155-160)

The thought of Dharma is part and parcel of Indian Culture. Being one of the four Purusharthas, it is capable of upholding and integrating the whole society. Among the great concepts and doctrines, the basic principles and directives of Hinduism, Dharma stands out pre-eminent, with a vast, deep and pervasive significance of its own. The concept of Dharma is vast and vide. It is a Sanskrit expression of widest import. There is no corresponding word in any other language. Dharma is the lifeforce of the society, like 'Prana' in an individual. Any state or institution or even society or an individual cannot exist without Dharma. Those who believe in discrimination, in effect, don't practice Dharma. They never attain real happiness.

The Concept of Dharma -A Review

Ex civil servicemen association of Nepal, 2022

The Dharma is the part of Vedic heritage. Dharma is likely a natural concept. Foundation of dharma is humanity, reasonability and rationality in human conduct. Dharma is considered a secular concept as well. Dharma was placed above faith, belief and religion. At times dharma was recognized ‘sovereign of sovereigns’. It is because dharma was supreme or above all. The sovereign or the king has to perform their work as per the norm and values of dharma. The people too run their all affairs abiding by dharma even in the absence of nation, king, ruler and all. Indeed dharma is a dynamic concept. It is recognized differently in different times in line with dharma-chakra (circle of dharma)

Giudice, Alessandro. 2024. ‘Law and Religion in Brahmanism: the Dharmaśāstra’. St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology

St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology, 2024

This entry delves into the origin, sources, and role of the Dharmaśāstra (science of dharma) in the historical and cultural context of ancient India. In contrast to other ancient civilizations (such as the Roman Republic and Empire), ancient Indian society was characterized by the lack of a uniform legal system, having instead multiple legal systems united by a common jurisprudence called Dharmaśāstra. The initial works within this tradition are the Dharmasūtras, four of which are handed down from manuscripts (i.e. the āpastamba-, Gautama-, Baudhāyana-, and Vasiṣṭhadharmasūtra), approximately dated from the third century BCE to the first century CE. These works are written in aphoristic prose (sūtra) and tend to preserve the entire scholarly debate about dharma rather than provide an unambiguous, authoritative version of the issues addressed. Such argumentative modality is innovated by the composition of the Mānavadharmaśāstra, the first Dharmaśāstra or Smṛti to be handed down, approximately dated to the second century CE. This work, written in verse (śloka) and ascribed to a divine figure, imposes its authority in the debate surrounding dharma by taking an assertive stance and eliminating all dissent in most cases. The Mānavadharmaśāstra innovation was then followed by later Smṛtis, of which only four major texts are handed down from manuscripts – the Yājñavalkya-, Nārada-, Viṣṇu-, and Parāśarasmṛti – dated approximately from the late fourth century to the eighth century CE. Following an examination of the genesis of the Dharmaśāstric tradition, connected to the (re-)Brahmanization of the Buddhist concept of dharma, this entry deals with the four dharmamūlas (‘roots of law’) on which the Dharmaśāstra is grounded, i.e. śruti (‘revelation’), smṛti (‘tradition’), ācara (‘conduct’), and ātmatuṣṭi (‘self-satisfaction’ or ‘personal preference’), along with its textual history. Finally, coming to the present day, this entry discusses the role of Dharmaśāstra in the living forms of Hinduism and, specifically, how it has survived in modern Hindu law. Citation: Giudice, Alessandro. 2024. ‘Law and Religion in Brahmanism: the Dharmaśāstra’. St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. Edited by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. Available online at https://www.saet.ac.uk/Hinduism/LawandReligioninBrahmanism.

ASPECTS OF DHARMA Ethics Law and Action in Indian Tradition

2023

The idea of legal culture and tradition has an important place in major recent debates about the nature and aims of law. The concept of legal culture means that law should be treated as embedded in the broader culture of society. In a sense, law is culture. Concept of legal culture encompasses much more than the professional juristic realm. It refers to a more general consciousness or experience of law that is widely shared by those who constitute a nation. Culture is fundamental-a kind of lens through which all aspects of law must be perceived, or a gateway of understanding through which we must pass so as to have any genuine access to the meaning of law in society. Cultural concepts of law that emerge out of the several frames of reference in the veda, upanisad, epics, dharmasastra, the republican governments in ancient India, and the constituent assembly debates enable us to view the law in India in an integrative perspective that is closer to Indian cultural tradition and practice. The innovative value of historical and sociological approach lies in its unifying vision of the theological, cultural and positivist aspects of the concepts of law in Indian tradition. A holistic concept of law including both legal and moral perspectives seems to provide a more realistic picture of Indian legal culture and tradition. A juridical system that does not correspond to the social and cultural sensitivities of a society can not be owned by the people as their system but will be seen as something foreign and imposed. Without a conducive social and cultural conceptualization mere formal law cannot create willing legal and moral obligation and practice.

'DHARMA' IN THE BUDDHIST AND JAINA FRAMES

Anu Books, 2022

It is understood that in the very popular understanding of the term 'dharma', it designates a 'religion' or a religious sect'. That is in common parlance, 'dharma' is found to be used in the sense of the institutionalized religions. For example, Hindu dharma (having alternative names like: Aarya dharma/ Sanatana dharma), Jaina dharma, Bouddha dharma, etc. But every religious sect or dharma has its own understanding of the concept of dharma in a specific manner. That is, some standards are accepted in an institutionalized religion to be treated as dharma. Those are prescribed in the form of certain codes and conducts aiming at an ideal living. This article aims at attempting the exposition of an understanding of the concept of dharma as found in the above-mentioned two religious sects to show that the primary aim of these religious sects is to enforce dharma to act as a guide to the moral living of its followers. Their aim of emphasizing on dharma is not from religious perspectives, but rather from moral perspectives.