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96-463: Various Paññāsa Jātaka stories have parallels with Sanskrit literature as well as Tamil, Chinese, Tibetan, Khotanese and Southeast Asian folk tales. According to 17th and 18th century Burmese tradition, the stories may have originated in 15th century Lan Na (modern Northern Thailand ). The Burmese name Zimmè Paññāsa ( ဇင်းမယ်ပညာသ ), in fact means 'Chiang Mai Fifty', and it is thought that these stories may have originated in that city in what

192-472: A cosmic principle and appears in verses independent of deities . It evolves into a concept, claims Paul Horsch, that has a dynamic functional sense in Atharvaveda for example, where it becomes the cosmic law that links cause and effect through a subject. Dharma, in these ancient texts, also takes a ritual meaning. The ritual is connected to the cosmic, and "dharmani" is equated to ceremonial devotion to

288-470: A fisherman must injure a fish, but he must attempt to do this with least trauma to fish and the fisherman must try to injure no other creature as he fishes. The five niyamas (observances) are cleanliness by eating pure food and removing impure thoughts (such as arrogance or jealousy or pride), contentment in one's means, meditation and silent reflection regardless of circumstances one faces, study and pursuit of historic knowledge, and devotion of all actions to

384-725: A large tradition of commentary texts, which were called Bhāṣyas , Vṛṭṭis, Ṭīkās, Vārttikas and other names. These commentaries were written on numerous genres of Sanskrit texts, including on Sūtras, on Upaniṣads and on the Sanskrit epics. Examples include the Yogabhāṣya on the Yoga Sūtras , Shankara's Brahmasūtrabhāṣya, the Gītābhāṣya and Śrī Bhāṣya of Ramanuja (1017–1137), Pakṣilasvāmin Vātsyāyana 's Nyāya Sūtra Bhāṣya and

480-549: A version of Sanskrit often called Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit or Buddhistic Sanskrit, which contains many Middle Indic ( prakritic ) elements not found in other forms of Sanskrit. Early works of Sanskrit literature were transmitted through an oral tradition for centuries before they were written down in manuscript form. While most Sanskrit texts were composed in ancient India , others were composed in Central Asia , East Asia or Southeast Asia . Sanskrit literature

576-698: Is a broad term for all literature composed in Sanskrit . This includes texts composed in the earliest attested descendant of the Proto-Indo-Aryan language known as Vedic Sanskrit , texts in Classical Sanskrit as well as some mixed and non-standard forms of Sanskrit. Literature in the older language begins during the Vedic period with the composition of the Ṛg·veda between about 1500 and 1000 BCE, followed by other Vedic works right up to

672-457: Is a key concept with multiple meanings in the Indian religions , among others. The term dharma is held as an untranslatable into English (or other European languages); it is understood to refer to behaviours which are in harmony with the "order and custom" that sustains life ; "virtue", or "religious and moral duties". The antonym of dharma is adharma . The concept of dharma was in use in

768-700: Is a manifestation of Ṛta, but suggests Ṛta may have been subsumed into a more complex concept of dharma , as the idea developed in ancient India over time in a nonlinear manner. The following verse from the Rigveda is an example where rta and dharma are linked: O Indra, lead us on the path of Rta, on the right path over all evils... Traditional Dharma is an organising principle in Hinduism that applies to human beings in solitude, in their interaction with human beings and nature, as well as between inanimate objects, to all of cosmos and its parts. It refers to

864-424: Is contrary to reality, laws and rules that establish order, predictability and harmony. Paul Horsch suggests Ṛta and dharma are parallel concepts, the former being a cosmic principle, the latter being of moral social sphere; while Māyā and dharma are also correlative concepts, the former being that which corrupts law and moral life, the later being that which strengthens law and moral life. Day proposes dharma

960-496: Is dependent on poverty and prosperity in a society, according to Hindu dharma scriptures. For example, according to Adam Bowles, Shatapatha Brahmana 11.1.6.24 links social prosperity and dharma through water. Waters come from rains, it claims; when rains are abundant there is prosperity on the earth, and this prosperity enables people to follow Dharma – moral and lawful life. In times of distress, of drought, of poverty, everything suffers including relations between human beings and

1056-657: 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. There is no equivalent single-word synonym for dharma in western languages. There have been numerous, conflicting attempts to translate ancient Sanskrit literature with the word dharma into German , English and French. The concept, claims Paul Horsch, has caused exceptional difficulties for modern commentators and translators. For example, while Grassmann's translation of Rig-Veda identifies seven different meanings of dharma, Karl Friedrich Geldner in his translation of

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1152-594: Is extensive discussion of dharma at the individual level in the Epics of Hinduism; for example, on free will versus destiny, when and why human beings believe in either, the strong and prosperous naturally uphold free will, while those facing grief or frustration naturally lean towards destiny. The Epics of Hinduism illustrate various aspects of dharma with metaphors. According to Klaus Klostermaier , 4th-century CE Hindu scholar Vātsyāyana explained dharma by contrasting it with adharma. Vātsyāyana suggested that dharma

1248-471: Is in a sense not just a single 'epic poem', but can be seen as a whole body of literature in its own right, a massive collection of many different poetic works built around the heroic tales of the Bharata tribe. Most of this literature was probably compiled between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE by numerous authors, with the oldest preserved parts not much older than around 400 BCE. Already in

1344-456: 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". Dharma also has connotations of order, and when combined with the word sanatana , it can also be described as eternal truth. The meaning of the word dharma depends on the context, and its meaning has evolved as ideas of Hinduism have developed through history. In

1440-484: Is largely secular in subject-matter. On the other hand, the Classical Sanskrit language was much more formalized and homogeneous, partly due to the influence of Sanskrit grammarians like Pāṇini and his commentators. Sanskrit was an important language for medieval Indian religious literature. Most pre-modern Hindu literature and philosophy was in Sanskrit and a significant portion of Buddhist literature

1536-469: Is made of 1028 hymns named sūktas , composed of verses in strictly regulated meters. These are collected into saṃhitās . There are about 10,000 of these verses that make up the Ṛg·veda. The Ṛg·vedic hymns are subdivided into 10 maṇḍala s, most of which are attributed to members of certain families. Composition of the Ṛg·vedic hymns was entirely oral, and for much of its history, the Ṛg·veda has been transmitted only orally, written down likely no sooner than in

1632-458: Is more purely regular, ornate epic poetry, a form of style which is the basis of the later Kāvya tradition. There are two parts to the story of the Rāmāyaṇa , which are narrated in the five genuine books. The first revolves around the events at the court of King Daśaratha at Ayodhya with one of his wives vying for the succession of the throne to her own son Bharata in place of the one chosen by

1728-1066: Is not merely in one's actions, but also in words one speaks or writes, and in thought. According to Vātsyāyana: In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali the dharma is real; in the Vedanta it is unreal. Dharma is part of yoga , suggests Patanjali ; the elements of Hindu dharma are the attributes, qualities and aspects of yoga. Patanjali explained dharma in two categories: yamas (restraints) and niyamas (observances). The five yamas, according to Patanjali, are: abstain from injury to all living creatures, abstain from falsehood (satya), abstain from unauthorised appropriation of things-of-value from another (acastrapurvaka), abstain from coveting or sexually cheating on your partner, and abstain from expecting or accepting gifts from others. The five yama apply in action, speech and mind. In explaining yama, Patanjali clarifies that certain professions and situations may require qualification in conduct. For example,

1824-594: Is now northern Thailand from where the collection was likely transmitted. According to Damrong Rajanubhab , the stories were first composed in Chiang Mai between 1467 and 1667: however, this is unlikely to be correct. As some scholars have pointed out, the Paññāsa Jātaka tales were already well-known by the Sukhothai Era (1238-1438). Many of the learned monks fled to Luang Prabang before and during

1920-655: Is one of the Puruṣārtha . In Buddhism , dharma ( Pali : dhamma ) refers to the teachings of the Buddha . In Buddhist philosophy , dhamma/dharma is also the term for " phenomena ". Dharma in Jainism refers to the teachings of Tirthankara (Jina) and the body of doctrine pertaining to the purification and moral transformation of humans. In Sikhism , dharma indicates the path of righteousness, proper religious practices, and performing one's own moral duties. As with

2016-647: Is related to Sanskrit "dharma". Ideas in parts overlapping to Dharma are found in other ancient cultures: such as Chinese Tao , Egyptian Maat , Sumerian Me . In the mid-20th century, an inscription of the Indian Emperor Asoka from the year 258 BCE was discovered in Afghanistan, the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription . This rock inscription contains Greek and Aramaic text. According to Paul Hacker , on

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2112-504: Is rife with notions of witchcraft, derived from a much earlier period. The Brāhmaṇas (a subdivision within the Vedas) concern themselves with the correct application of Vedic ritual , and the duties of the Vedic priest ( hotṛ : 'pourer, worshiper, reciter') the word being derived from bráhman meaning 'prayer'. They were composed at a period in time by which the Vedic hymns had achieved

2208-416: Is the need for, the effect of and essence of service and interconnectedness of all life. This includes duties, rights, laws , conduct, virtues and "right way of living". In its true essence, dharma means for a Hindu to "expand the mind". Furthermore, it represents the direct connection between the individual and the societal phenomena that bind the society together. In the way societal phenomena affect

2304-476: Is vast and includes Hindu texts , religious scripture , various forms of poetry (such as epic and lyric ), drama and narrative prose . It also includes substantial works covering secular and technical sciences and the arts. Some of these subjects include: law and custom , grammar , politics , economics , medicine , astrology - astronomy , arithmetic , geometry , music , dance , dramatics , magic and divination , and sexuality . Literature in

2400-660: The Brahmanas and Aranyakas . However, numerous scriptures titled "Upaniṣads" continued to be composed after the closure of the Vedas proper. Of these later "Upaniṣads" there are two categories of texts: Sūtra style aphoristic literature continued to be composed on numerous topics, the most popular being on the different fields of Hindu philosophy . The main Sūtra texts (sometimes also called kārikās ) on Hindu philosophy include: The various Sanskrit literature also spawned

2496-687: The Mahābhārata is the Bhagavadgītā , which became a central scripture for the Vedanta school and remains widely read today. Another important associated text, which acts as a kind of supplement ( khila ) to the Mahābhārata , is the Harivanhśa , which focuses on the figure of Krishna . In contrast to the Mahābhārata , the Rāmāyaṇa consists of only 24,000 ślokas divided into seven books, and in form

2592-704: The Shiva Tandava Stotra . Another group of later Sanskrit Hindu texts are those which focus on Hatha Yoga , and include the Dattātreyayogaśāstra (13th century), the Gorakṣaśataka (13th century) , the Haṭhayogapradīpikā (15th century) and the Gheraṇḍasaṁhitā (17th or 18th-century). Dharma Dharma ( Sanskrit : धर्म , pronounced [dʱɐrmɐ] )

2688-616: The Vedānta ( "end of the Vedas" ) system. The Vedic Sūtras were aphoristic treatises concerned either with Vedic ritual ( Kalpa Vedanga ) or customary law. They arrived during the later period of the Brāhmaṇas when a vast mass of ritual and customary details had been accumulated. To address this, the Sūtras are intended to provide a concise survey of Vedic knowledge through short aphoristic passages that could be easily memorized. The Sūtras forego

2784-812: The Yoga-Vāsiṣṭha (which is important in Advaita Vedanta ), the Yoga-Yājñavalkya and the Devi Mahatmya (a key Shakta work). When it comes to poetry, there are numerous stotras (odes), suktas and stutis , as well as other poetic genres. Some important works of Hindu Sanskrit poetry include the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi , the Hanuman Chalisa , the Aṣṭāvakragītā , Bhaja Govindam , and

2880-665: The bodhisattva practice of self-sacrifice and devotion to parents and the Buddha , the Dhamma , and the Saṅgha . Motifs that appear in some Paññāsa Jātaka can also be found on ninth-century reliefs at the Borobudur monument in Java, which suggests that some Paññāsa Jātaka may be derived from older pre-Buddhist Southeast Asian folklore. Sanskrit literature Sanskrit literature

2976-588: The Śrautas ūtras (focusing on ritual), Śulbasûtra (on altar construction), Gṛhyasūtras which focus on rites of passage and Dharmasūtras . Most ancient and medieval Hindu texts were composed in Sanskrit, either epic Sanskrit (the pre-classical language found in the two main Indian epics) or classical Sanskrit (Paninian Sanskrit). In modern times, most ancient texts have been translated into other Indian languages and some in Western languages. Prior to

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3072-466: The Brāhmaṇas contain material which also discuss theology and philosophy . These works were meant to be imparted or studied in the peace and calm of the forest, hence their name the Āraṇyaka s ("Of the forest") The last part of these are books of Vedic doctrine and philosophy that came to be called Upaniṣads ("sitting down beside"). The doctrines in the Vedic or Mukhya Upaniṣads (the main and most ancient Upaniṣads) were later developed into

3168-517: The Burmese conquest of Chiang Mai in 1558, and others were taken to Burma. This could not only explain the spread of the Paññāsa Jātaka but also the increase in production of manuscripts containing Paññāsa Jātaka across mainland Southeast Asia. Because the tales were originally and for a long time transferred only orally, it is difficult to trace a precise evolution. Most of the surviving manuscripts containing one or more Paññāsa Jātaka date back to

3264-723: The Hindu gods , cosmogony , cosmology , stories of ancient kings and sages, folk tales, information about temples, medicine, astronomy, grammar and Hindu theology and philosophy . Perhaps the most influential of these texts is the Bhāgavata Purāṇa , a central text for Vaishnava theology. Other Purāṇas center on different gods, like the Shiva Purāṇa and the Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa . The principal Upaniṣads can be considered Vedic literature since they are included within

3360-477: The Mahabharata , dharma is central, and it is presented through symbolism and metaphors. Near the end of the epic, Yama referred to as dharma in the text, is portrayed as taking the form of a dog to test the compassion of Yudhishthira , who is told he may not enter paradise with such an animal. Yudhishthira refuses to abandon his companion, for which he is then praised by dharma . The value and appeal of

3456-578: The Matharavṛṭṭi (on the Sāṁkhyakārikā ). Furthermore, over time, secondary commentaries (i.e. a commentary to a commentary) also came to be written. There are a varied group of Hindu Tantric scriptures titled Tantras or Agamas. Gavin Flood argues that the earliest date for these Tantric texts is 600 CE, though most of them were probably composed after the 8th century onwards. Tantric literature

3552-419: The Paññāsa Jātaka; fictionalized stories about royalty, often involving flashy, magical powers – remains popular despite decades of existence; however, virtues such as righteousness and morality are replaced with weapons and brute force. According to Niyata Lausunthorn , the modernization of the Paññāsa Jātaka has helped maintain its popularity until this day, despite it being, sometimes, a long departure from

3648-543: The Upanishads and later ancient scripts of Hinduism. In Upanishads, the concept of dharma continues as universal principle of law, order, harmony, and truth. It acts as the regulatory moral principle of the Universe. It is explained as law of righteousness and equated to satya ( Sanskrit : सत्यं , truth), in hymn 1.4.14 of Brhadaranyaka Upanishad , as follows: Nothing is higher than dharma. The weak overcomes

3744-528: The Vedic literature , among the certain hymns of the Ṛgveda (which contain dialogues), as well as the Ākhyānas (ballads), Itihāsas ('traditional accounts of past events') and the Purāṇas found in the Vedic Brāhmaṇas . These poems were originally songs of praise or heroic songs which developed into epic poems of increasing length over time. They were originally recited during important events such as during

3840-414: The historical Vedic religion (1500–500 BCE), and its meaning and conceptual scope has evolved over several millennia. In Hinduism , dharma denotes behaviours that are considered to be in accord with Ṛta —the "order and custom" that makes life and universe possible. This includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and "right way of living". Dharma is believed to have a transtemporal validity, and

3936-464: The man-suffix, and is related to Latin firmus (firm, stable). From this, it takes the meaning of "what is established or firm", and hence "law". It is derived from an older Vedic Sanskrit n -stem dharman- , with a literal meaning of "bearer, supporter", in a religious sense conceived as an aspect of Rta . In the Rigveda , the word appears as an n -stem, dhárman- , with a range of meanings encompassing "something established or firm" (in

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4032-488: The Ṛgveda , but also contains several prose formulas. It is called the book of sacrificial prayers yajus . The last of the four, the Atharvaveda , both by the internal structure of the language used and by comparison with the Ṛg·veda, is a much later work. However, the Atharvaveda represents a much earlier stage of thought of the Vedic people, being composed mainly of spells and incantations appealing to demons, and

4128-449: The 13th century severely damaged Indian Sanskrit scholarship and the dominance of Islamic power over India eventually contributed to the decline of this scholarly language, especially since Muslim rulers promoted Middle Eastern languages. However, Sanskrit remains in use throughout India, and is used in rituals, religious practice, scholarship, art, and other Indian traditions. Five chronologically distinct strata can be identified within

4224-806: The 3rd century BCE the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka translated dharma into Greek and Aramaic and he used the Greek word eusebeia (εὐσέβεια, piety, spiritual maturity, or godliness) in the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription and the Kandahar Greek Edicts . In the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription he used the Aramaic word קשיטא ( qšyṭ’ ; truth, rectitude). Dharma is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and Indian religions . It has multiple meanings in Hinduism , Buddhism , Sikhism and Jainism . It

4320-531: The Epics and other Sanskrit literature with the help of one's teacher. Second, observing the behaviour and example of good people. The third source applies when neither one's education nor example exemplary conduct is known. In this case, " atmatusti " is the source of dharma in Hinduism, that is the good person reflects and follows what satisfies his heart, his own inner feeling, what he feels driven to. Some texts of Hinduism outline dharma for society and at

4416-567: The Epics; the word dharma also plays a central role in the literature of other Indian religions founded later, such as Buddhism and Jainism. According to Brereton, Dharman occurs 63 times in Rig-veda ; in addition, words related to Dharman also appear in Rig-veda, for example once as dharmakrt, 6 times as satyadharman , and once as dharmavant , 4 times as dharman and twice as dhariman . Indo-European parallels for "dharma" are known, but

4512-565: The Mahabharata, according to Ingalls, is not as much in its complex and rushed presentation of metaphysics in the 12th book. Indian metaphysics, he argues, is more eloquently presented in other Sanskrit scriptures. Instead, the appeal of Mahabharata, like Ramayana , lies in its presentation of a series of moral problems and life situations, where there are usually three answers: one answer is of Bhima , which represents brute force, an individual angle representing materialism, egoism, and self;

4608-577: The Pali Canon's Jātaka . Paññāsa Jātaka in Cambodia, not being part of the Pāli Canon , quoted and modeled the style of the sāstrā lbaeng , fictional and educational Khmer literature. There are four types of Paññāsa Jātaka written on: Cambodian Jataka stories of Buddha's lives, depart from Indian models in depicting women for the most part as intelligent, active, and dignified, and detailing

4704-531: The Rig-Veda employs 20 different translations for dharma, including meanings such as " law ", "order", " duty ", "custom", "quality", and "model", among others. 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 √ dhṛ- , which means "to support, hold, or bear". It is the thing that regulates

4800-502: The Sanskrit epics, this concern is omnipresent. In Hindu Epics, the good, morally upright, law-abiding king is referred to as "dharmaraja". Dharma is at the centre of all major events in the life of Dasharatha, Rama , Sita , and Lakshman in Ramayana. In the Ramayana, Dasharatha upholds his dharma by honoring a promise to Kaikeyi, resulting in his beloved son Rama's exile, even though it brings him immense personal suffering. In

4896-639: The Supreme Teacher to achieve perfection of concentration. Dharma is an empirical and experiential inquiry for every man and woman, according to some texts of Hinduism. For example, Apastamba Dharmasutra states: Dharma and Adharma do not go around saying, "That is us." Neither do gods, nor gandharvas, nor ancestors declare what is Dharma and what is Adharma . In other texts, three sources and means to discover dharma in Hinduism are described. These, according to Paul Hacker , are: First, learning historical knowledge such as Vedas, Upanishads,

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4992-408: The Vedic horse sacrifice (the aśvamedha ) or during a funeral. Another related genre were the "songs in praise of men" ( gatha narasamsi), which focus on the glorious deeds of warriors and princes, which also developed into long epic cycles. These epic poems were recited by courtly bards called sūtas , who may have been their own caste and were closely related to the warrior caste . There

5088-541: The Vedic and the Classical language differ in numerous respects. The Vedic literature that survives is almost entirely religious, being focused on the prayers, hymns to the gods ( devas ), sacrifices and other concerns of the Vedic religion . The language of this archaic literature (the earliest being the Rigveda ), Vedic Sanskrit , is different in many ways (and much less regular) than the "classical" Sanskrit described by later grammarians like Pāṇini . This literature

5184-530: The auspices of Chiang Mai University . The international team of researchers involved in this project point out that the original manuscript version written in northern Thai Tham script is mainly in the Northern Thai language with added words and phrases in Pali. In today's Thai collection of Paññāsa Jātaka , there are 61 tales. On television, a Thai telenovela genre known as " jakrawong " inspired from

5280-463: The central concern, defining dharma as what connects a person with the highest good, always yet to be realized. While some schools associate dharma with post-mortem existence, Mimamsakas focus on the continual renewal and realization of a ritual world through adherence to Vedic injunctions. They assert that the ultimate good is essentially inaccessible to perception and can only be understood through language, reflecting confidence in Vedic injunctions and

5376-518: The conscience of the individual, similarly may the actions of an individual alter the course of the society, for better or for worse. This has been subtly echoed by the credo धर्मो धारयति प्रजा: meaning dharma is that which holds and provides support to the social construct. In Hinduism, dharma generally includes various aspects: The history section of this article discusses the development of dharma concept in Vedas . This development continued in

5472-462: The consequences for men who do not treat women as their equals. To the Paññāsa Jātaka, fifty-one more non-canonical Jataka tales were added by Song Siv who gathered them from Khmer folklore during the Sangkum era; they were published again in 8 volumes in 2002. Whereas mainstream Buddhist traditions do not promote martyrdom , Paññāsa Jātaka tales reveal a particular Southeast Asian value in

5568-545: The course of change by not participating in change, but that principle which remains constant. Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary , the widely cited resource for definitions and explanation of Sanskrit words and concepts of Hinduism, offers 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

5664-457: 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 Epics , the meaning became refined, richer, and more complex, and the word was applied to diverse contexts. In certain contexts, dharma designates human behaviours considered necessary for order of things in

5760-483: The earth and sun and stars apart, they support (dhar-) the sky away and distinct from earth, and they stabilise (dhar-) the quaking mountains and plains. The Deities , mainly Indra , then deliver and hold order from disorder, harmony from chaos, stability from instability – actions recited in the Veda with the root of word dharma. In hymns composed after the mythological verses, the word dharma takes expanded meaning as

5856-537: The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but many of them appear to be copies from older manuscripts. The collection has 3 recensions, one in Laotian and 2 in Pali, one from Burma, and another from Cambodia and Thailand. While there is some overlap between the versions, there is a significant degree of variation in the 3 recensions. A royal edition of a selection of Paññāsa Jātaka was commissioned by King Mongkut also known as Rama IV, who rule from 1851 to 1868. The text

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5952-399: The human ability to live according to dharma . In Rajadharmaparvan 91.34-8, the relationship between poverty and dharma reaches a full circle. A land with less moral and lawful life suffers distress, and as distress rises it causes more immoral and unlawful life, which further increases distress. Those in power must follow the raja dharma (that is, dharma of rulers), because this enables

6048-416: The individual level. Of these, the most cited one is Manusmriti , which describes the four Varnas , their rights and duties. Most texts of Hinduism, however, discuss dharma with no mention of Varna ( caste ). Other dharma texts and Smritis differ from Manusmriti on the nature and structure of Varnas. Yet, other texts question the very existence of varna. Bhrigu , in the Epics, for example, presents

6144-471: The king, Rāma . The second part of the epic is full of myth and marvel, with the banished Rāma combating giants in the forest, and slaying thousands of demons. The second part also deals with the abduction of Rāmā's wife, Sītā by king Rāvaṇa of Lankā, leading Rāma to carry out to expedition to the island to defeat the king in battle and recover his wife. The Purāṇa are a large class of Hindu scriptures which cover numerous topics such as myth, legends of

6240-516: The life of a single individual" and the vanaprastha stage was added before renunciation over time, thus forming life stages. The four stages of life complete the four human strivings in life, according to Hinduism. Dharma enables the individual to satisfy the striving for stability and order, a life that is lawful and harmonious, the striving to do the right thing, be good, be virtuous, earn religious merit, be helpful to others, interact successfully with society. The other three strivings are Artha –

6336-467: The life of preparation as a student, (2) gṛhastha , the life of the householder with family and other social roles, (3) vānprastha or aranyaka, the life of the forest-dweller, transitioning from worldly occupations to reflection and renunciation, and (4) sannyāsa , the life of giving away all property, becoming a recluse and devotion to moksa, spiritual matters. Patrick Olivelle suggests that "ashramas represented life choices rather than sequential steps in

6432-531: The literal sense of prods or poles). Figuratively, it means "sustainer" and "supporter" (of deities ). It is semantically similar to the Greek themis ("fixed decree, statute, law"). In Classical Sanskrit , and in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Atharvaveda , the stem is thematic: dhárma- ( Devanagari : धर्म). In Prakrit and Pali , it is rendered dhamma . In some contemporary Indian languages and dialects it alternatively occurs as dharm . In

6528-467: The literature of Vedic Sanskrit : The first three are commonly grouped together, as the Saṃhitās comprising the four Vedas: ṛk, atharvan, yajus, sāman, which together constitute the oldest texts in Sanskrit and the canonical foundation both of the Vedic religion, and the later religion known as Hinduism. The Ṛg·veda, the first and oldest of the four Vedas, is the foundation for the others. The Ṛg·veda

6624-446: The need to interpret the ceremony or custom, but simply provide a plain, methodical account with the utmost brevity. The word sūtra , derived from the root siv- , 'to sew', thus meaning 'sewn' or 'stitched together' eventually became a byword for any work of aphorisms of similar concision. The sutras in many cases are so terse they cannot be understood without the help of detailed commentaries. The main types of Vedic Sūtras include

6720-400: The only Iranian equivalent is Old Persian darmān , meaning "remedy". This meaning is different from the Indo-Aryan dhárman , suggesting that the word "dharma" did not play a major role in the Indo-Iranian period. Instead, it was primarily developed more recently under the Vedic tradition. It is thought that the Daena of Zoroastrianism , also meaning the "eternal Law" or "religion",

6816-448: The order and customs which make life and universe possible, and includes behaviours, rituals, rules that govern society, and ethics. Hindu dharma includes the religious duties, moral rights and duties of each individual, as well as behaviours that enable social order, right conduct, and those that are virtuous. Dharma , according to Van Buitenen, is that which all existing beings must accept and respect to sustain harmony and order in

6912-524: The other components of the Puruṣārtha, the concept of dharma is pan-Indian. The ancient Tamil text Tirukkuṟaḷ , despite being a collection of aphoristic teachings on dharma ( aram ), artha ( porul ), and kama ( inpam ), is completely and exclusively based on aṟam —the Tamil term for dharma . The word dharma has roots in the Sanskrit root √ dhṛ- which means to hold or to support , combined with

7008-481: The principles that deities used to create order from disorder, the world from chaos. Past the ritual and cosmic sense of dharma that link the current world to mythical universe, the concept extends to an ethical-social sense that links human beings to each other and to other life forms. It is here that dharma as a concept of law emerges in Hinduism. Dharma and related words are found in the oldest Vedic literature of Hinduism , in later Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, and

7104-492: The reality of language as a means of knowing. Mimamsa addresses the delayed results of actions (like wealth or heaven) through the concept of apurva or adrsta, an unseen force that preserves the connection between actions and their outcomes. This ensures that Vedic sacrifices, though their results are delayed, are effective and reliable in guiding toward dharma. The Hindu religion and philosophy, claims Daniel Ingalls , places major emphasis on individual practical morality. In

7200-590: The rock appears a Greek rendering for the Sanskrit word dharma: the word eusebeia . Scholars of Hellenistic Greece explain eusebeia as a complex concept. Eusebia means not only to venerate deities , but also spiritual maturity, a reverential attitude toward life, and includes the right conduct toward one's parents, siblings and children, the right conduct between husband and wife, and the conduct between biologically unrelated people. This rock inscription, concludes Paul Hacker, suggests dharma in India, about 2300 years ago,

7296-405: The second answer is of Yudhishthira , which appeals to piety, deities , social virtue, and tradition; the third answer is of introspective Arjuna , which falls between the two extremes, and who, claims Ingalls, symbolically reveals the finest moral qualities of man. The Epics of Hinduism are a symbolic treatise about life, virtues, customs, morals, ethics, law, and other aspects of dharma . There

7392-595: The second half of the first millennium of the Common Era. The Sāmaveda is not an original composition: it's almost entirely (except 75) made of stanzas taken from the Ṛgveda and rearranged with reference to their place in the Soma sacrifice. This book is meant to be sung to certain fixed melodies, and may thus be called the book of chants, sāman . The Yajurveda like the Sāman is also largely made of verses taken from

7488-408: The stage of life one is in. The concept of Dharma is believed to have a transtemporal validity. The antonym of dharma is adharma (Sanskrit: अधर्म), 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. In Buddhism, dharma incorporates

7584-640: The start of the common era, the Hindu texts were composed orally, then memorized and transmitted orally, from one generation to next, for more than a millennium before they were written down into manuscripts. This verbal tradition of preserving and transmitting Hindu texts, from one generation to next, continued into the modern era. Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas Hindu Sanskrit texts are subdivided into two classes: The first traces of Indian epic poetry are seen in

7680-414: The status of being ancient and sacred revelations and the language had changed sufficiently so that the priests did not fully understand the Vedic texts. The Brāhmaṇas are composed in prose, unlike the previous works, forming some of the earliest examples of prose in any Indo-European language . The Brāhmaṇas intend to explain the relation between the sacred text and ritual ceremony. The later part of

7776-455: The striving for means of life such as food, shelter, power, security, material wealth, and so forth; Kama – the striving for sex, desire, pleasure, love, emotional fulfilment, and so forth; and Moksa – the striving for spiritual meaning, liberation from life-rebirth cycle, self-realisation in this life, and so forth. The four stages are neither independent nor exclusionary in Hindu dharma . Dharma being necessary for individual and society,

7872-573: The stronger by dharma, as over a king. Truly that dharma is the Truth ( Satya ); Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, "He speaks the Dharma"; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, "He speaks the Truth!" For both are one. Mimamsa , developed through commentaries on its foundational texts, particularly the Mimamsa Sutras attributed to Jaimini , emphasizes "the desire to know dharma" as

7968-491: The teachings and doctrines of the founder of Buddhism, the Buddha . According to Pandurang Vaman Kane , author of History of Dharmaśāstra , the word dharma appears at least fifty-six times in the hymns of the Rigveda , as an adjective or noun. According to Paul Horsch, the word dharma has its origin in Vedic Hinduism. The hymns of the Rigveda claim Brahman created the universe from chaos, they hold (dhar-)

8064-436: The theory that dharma does not require any varnas. In practice, medieval India is widely believed to be a socially stratified society, with each social strata inheriting a profession and being endogamous. Varna was not absolute in Hindu dharma; individuals had the right to renounce and leave their Varna, as well as their asramas of life, in search of moksa. While neither Manusmriti nor succeeding Smritis of Hinduism ever use

8160-479: The time of the grammarian Pāṇini around 6th or 4th century BCE (after which Classical Sanskrit texts gradually became the norm). Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the extensive liturgical works of the Vedic religion , while Classical Sanskrit is the language of many of the prominent texts associated with the major Indian religions , especially Hinduism and the Hindu texts , but also Buddhism , and Jainism . Some Sanskrit Buddhist texts are also composed in

8256-432: The universe, principles that prevent chaos, behaviours and action necessary to all life in nature, society, family as well as at the individual level. Dharma encompasses ideas such as duty, rights, character, vocation, religion, customs and all behaviour considered appropriate, correct or morally upright. For further context, the word varnasramdharma is often used in its place, defined as dharma specifically related to

8352-530: The word varnadharma (that is, the dharma of varnas), or varnasramadharma (that is, the dharma of varnas and asramas), the scholarly commentary on Manusmriti use these words, and thus associate dharma with varna system of India. In 6th century India, even Buddhist kings called themselves "protectors of varnasramadharma" – that is, dharma of varna and asramas of life. At the individual level, some texts of Hinduism outline four āśramas , or stages of life as individual's dharma . These are: (1) brahmacārya ,

8448-490: The world. It is neither the act nor the result, but the natural laws that guide the act and create the result to prevent chaos in the world. It is innate characteristic, that makes the being what it is. It is, claims Van Buitenen, the pursuit and execution of one's nature and true calling, thus playing one's role in cosmic concert. In Hinduism, it is the dharma of the bee to make honey, of cow to give milk, of sun to radiate sunshine, of river to flow. In terms of humanity, dharma

8544-566: The Ṛgveda, the Bharatas find mention as a warlike tribe, and the Brāhmaṇas also speak of Bharata , the son of Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā . The core of the Mahābhārata is a family feud in the royal house of the Kauravas (the descendants of Bharata), leading to a bloody battle at Kurukshetra . Over the centuries, an enormous mass of poetry, myths, legends, secondary tales, moral stories and more

8640-498: Was a central concept and meant not only religious ideas, but ideas of right, of good, of one's duty toward the human community. The evolving literature of Hinduism linked dharma to two other important concepts: Ṛta and Māyā . Ṛta in Vedas is the truth and cosmic principle which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it. Māyā in Rig-veda and later literature means illusion, fraud, deception, magic that misleads and creates disorder, thus

8736-493: Was added to the original core story. The final form of the epic is thus a massive 100,000 ślokas across 18+1 books. According to Winternitz, the Mahābhārata also shows the influence of the Brahmin class , which he argues was engaged in a project of appropriating the poetry of the bards (which was mainly a secular heroic literature) in order to infuse it with their religious theology and values. The most influential part of

8832-397: Was also a related group of traveling singers called kusilavas. Indian kings and princes seem to have kept bards in their courts which sung the praises of the king, recite poems at festivals and sometimes even recite poetry in battle to embolden the warriors. While there were certainly other epic cycles, only two have survived, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa . The Mahābhārata

8928-656: Was also written in either classical Sanskrit or Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit . Many of these Sanskrit Buddhist texts were the basis for later translation into the Chinese Buddhist Canon and Tibetan Canon . Many Jain texts were also written in Sanskrit, like the Tattvartha sutra , Bhaktamara Stotra , etc. Classical Sanskrit also served as a common language of scholarship and elites (as opposed to local vernacular who were only understood regionally). The invasions of northern India by Islamic powers in

9024-490: Was transmitted orally during the Vedic period, only later was it written down. Classical Sanskrit literature is more varied and includes the following genres: scripture (Hindu, Buddhist and Jain), epics , court poetry ( kavya ), lyric, drama , romance, fairytale, fables, grammar , civil and religious law ( dharma ), the science of politics and practical life, the science of love and sexual intercourse ( kama ), philosophy , medicine, astronomy, astrology and mathematics , and

9120-577: Was very popular during the "Tantric Age" (c. 8th to the 14th century) , a period of time when Tantric traditions rose to prominence and flourished throughout India. According to Flood, all Hindu traditions, Shaiva , Vaishnava , Smarta and Shakta (perhaps excepting the Srautas ) became influenced by Tantric works and adopted some Tantric elements into their literature. There are also numerous other types of Hindu religious works, including prose and poetry. Among prose works there are important works like

9216-466: Was written mainly in Khmer script which was commonly used for Pali Buddhist scriptures in central Thailand up until the end of the nineteenth century. The first printed Thai translation was published in 1923 under the direction of Prince Damrong Rajanubhab , a son of King Mongkut. A set of northern Thai Paññāsa Jātaka transliterated from Thai Tham script into Thai script was published in 1998 under

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