History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c5.2

v1.c5.2

Defies exact rendering in English - In the Ṛgveda, used as adjective or noun - means 'upholder or supporter' in some Ṛgvedic passages - in most Ṛgveda passages means 'religious ordinances or rites' and in rare cases 'fixed principles or rules of conduct' -- in Aitareya-brāhmaṇa dharma means 'whole body of religious duties-' in Chāndogya-Upaniṣad *dharma* means 'peculiar duties of āśramas-' *dharma* came to mean 'duties and privileges of a person as a member of the Āryan community, as member of one of the varṇas or as in a particular stage of life' - the same meaning in Taittirīya Upaniṣad (I. 11), Bhagavadgītā, Manusmṛti and other smṛtis - according to Medhātithi, dharma five-fold viz., varṇadharma, āśramadharma, varṇāśramadharma, naimittikadharma, guṇadharma - this meaning of dharma taken in this work - definitions of dharma according to Jaimini, Vaiśeṣikasūtra, Hārīta, Mahābhārata and Buddhist works - subjects treated in this work, viz. sources of dharma, contents of works on dharma, their chronology.