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History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s1: 1. Meaning of Dharma

History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s1

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Contents

1. Meaning of Dharma

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*Dharma* is one of those Sanskrit words that defy all attempts at an exact rendering in English or any other tongue. That word has passed through several vicissitudes. In the hymns of the Ṛgveda the word appears to be used either as an adjective or a noun (in the form *dharman*, generally neuter) and occurs at least fifty-six times therein. It is very difficult to say what the exact meaning of the word *dharma* was in the most ancient period of the vedic language. The word is clearly derived from root *dhṛ* (to uphold, to support, to nourish). In a few passages, the word appears to be used in the sense of ‘upholder or supporter or sustainer’ as in Ṛg. I. 187.1¹ and X. 92.2². In these two passages and in Ṛg. X. 21.3³ the word *dharma* is clearly masculine. In all other cases, the word is either obviously in the neuter or presents a form which may be either masculine or neuter. In most cases the meaning of *dharman* is ‘religious ordinances or rites’ as in Ṛg. I. 22. 18, V. 26. 6, VIII. 43. 24, IX. 64. 1 &c. The refrain ‘tāni dharmāṇi prathamānyāsan’ occurs in Ṛg. I. 164, 43 and 50, X. 90. 16. Similarly we have the words ‘prathamā dharmā’ (the primeval or first ordinances) in Ṛg. III. 17. 1. and X. 56. 3 and the words ‘sanatā dharmāṇi (ancient ordinances) occur in Ṛg. III. 3. 1. In some passages this sense of ‘religious rites’ would not suit the context, e. g. in IV. 53. 3⁴, V. 63. 7⁵, VI. 70. 1⁶, VII. 89. 5⁷.

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In these passages the meaning seems to be ‘fixed principles or rules of conduct’. In the Vājasaneyasaṁhitā the above senses of the word *dharman* are found and in II. 3 and V. 27 we have the words ‘dhruveṇa dharmaṇā’. In the same Saṁhitā the form ‘dharmaḥ’ (from dharma) becomes frequent, e. g. X. 29, XX. 9. The Atharvaveda contains many of those verses of the Ṛgveda in which the word *dharman* occurs, e. g. VI. 51. 3 (acittyā chet tava dharmā yuyopima), VII, 5. 1 (Yajñena yajñamayajanta) VII. 27. 5 (trīṇi padā vicakrame). In XI. 9. 17 the word ‘dharmaḥ’ seems to be used in the sense of ‘merit acquired by the performance of religious rites’.⁸ In the Aitareya-brāhmaṇa, the word *dharma* seems to be used in an abstract sense⁹, viz. ‘the whole body of religious duties’. In the Chāndogya-upaniṣad¹⁰ (2. 23) there is an important passage bearing on the meaning of the word *dharma* ‘there are three branches of *dharma*, one is (constituted by) sacrifice, study and charity (i. e. the stage of house-holder); the second (is constituted by) austerities (i. e. the stage of being a hermit); the third is the *brahmacārin* dwelling in the house of his teacher and making himself stay with the family of his teacher till the last; all these attain to the worlds of meritorious men; one who abides firmly in *brahman* attains immortality.’ It will be seen that in this passage the word ‘*dharma*’ stands for the peculiar duties of the *āśramas*.

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The foregoing brief discussion establishes how the word *dharma* passed through several transitions of meaning and how ultimately its most prominent significance came to be ‘the privileges, duties and obligations of a man, his standard of conduct as a member of the Aryan community, as a member of one of the castes, as a person in a particular stage of life.’ It is in this sense that the word seems to be used in the well-known exhortation to the pupil contained in the Taittirīya-upaniṣad (I. 11) ‘speak the truth, practise (your own) *dharma* &c.’ It is in the same sense that the Bhagavadgītā uses the word *dharma* in the oft-quoted verse ‘svadharme nidhanaṁ śreyaḥ.’ The word is employed in this sense in the *dharmaśāstra* literature. The Manusmṛti (1. 2) tells us that the sages requested Manu to impart instruction in the *dharmas* of all the *varṇas*. The Yājñyavalkya-smṛiti (I. 1) employs it in the same sense. In the Tantra-Vārtika¹¹ also we are told that all the dharma-sūtras are concerned with imparting instruction in the *dharmas* of *varṇas* and *āśramas*. Medhātithi commenting on Manu says that the expounders of *smṛtis* dilate upon *dharma* as five-fold, *e. g.* *varṇadharma*, *āśrama-dharma*, *varṇāśrama-dharma*, *naimittikadharma* (such as *prāyaścitta*) and *guṇadharma* (the duty of a crowned king, whether Kṣatriya or not, to protect)¹². It is in this sense that the word *dharma* will be taken in this work.

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Numerous topics are comprehended under the title dharmaśāstra, but in this work prominence will be given to works on *ācāra* and *vyavahāra* (law and administration of justice).

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¹ पितुं नु स्तोषं म॒हो ध॒र्माणं॑ तवि॒षीम् । This occurs in शुक्लयजुर्वेद 34.7.

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² इ॒मम॑ञ्स्पामु॒भये॑ अकृण्वत ध॒र्माण॑म॒ग्निं वि॒दथ॑स्य॒ साध॑नम् ।

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³ त्वे धर्मा॑णं आसते जुह्वभि॑: सिञ्च॒तीरि॑व ।

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⁴ आमा॒ रजां॑सि दि॒व्यानि॒ पार्थि॑वा॒ श्लोकं॑ दे॒व: कृ॑णुते॒ स्वाय॒ धर्म॑णे ।

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⁵ धर्म॑णा मित्रावरुणा विपश्चिता व्र॒ता र॑क्षेथे असुर॑स्य मा॒यया॑ ।

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⁶ द्यावा॑पृथि॒वी वरु॑णस्य॒ धर्म॑णा विष्क॑भिते अ॒जरे॒ भूरि॑रेतसा ।

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⁷ अचि॑त्ती॒ यत्तव॒ धर्मा॑ युयो॒पिम॒ मा न॒स्तस्मा॒देन॑सो देव रीरिषः ।

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⁸ ऋतं सत्यं तपो राष्ट्रं श्रमो धर्मश्च कर्म च । भूतं भव्येष्यदुच्छिष्टे वीर्यं लक्ष्मीर्र्बलं बले ॥

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⁹ धर्मस्य गोप्ताऽजनीति तमभ्युत्कृष्टमेवंविविद्भिषेक्ष्यन्नेतयार्चाऽभिमन्त्रयेत । ऐ. ब्रा. VII. 17; vide also a similar passage at A. Br. VIII. 13. The form *dharman* occurs in the Upaniṣads and in classical Sanskrit in Bahuvrīhi compounds, e.g. अनुच्छित्तिधर्मा in the बृहदारण्यकोपनिषद् and the sūtra धर्मादनिच् केवलात् (पा. V. 4. 124).

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¹⁰ त्रयो धर्मस्कन्धा यज्ञोऽध्ययनं दानमिति प्रथमस्तप एवेति द्वितीयो ब्रह्मचार्याचार्यकुलवासी तृतीयोऽत्यन्तमात्मानमाचार्यकुलेवसादयन् सर्व एते पुण्यलोका भवन्ति ब्रह्मसंस्थोऽमृतत्वमेति । Vide वेदान्तसूत्र III. 4. 18–20 for a discussion of this passage.

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¹¹ ‘सर्वधर्मसूत्राणां वर्णाश्रमधर्मोपदेशित्वात्’ p. 237.

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¹² हरदत्त on गौ. ध. सू. 19. 1 and गोविन्दराज on मनु 2.25 give the same fivefold classification.

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It would be interesting to recall a few other definitions of *dharma*. Jaimini¹³ defines dharma as ‘a desirable goal or result that is indicated by injunctive (Vedic) passages.’ The word *dharma* would mean such rites as are conducive to happiness and are enjoined by Vedic passages. The Vaiśeṣikasūtra¹⁴ defines *dharma* as ‘that from which results happiness and final beatitude.’ There are several other more or less one-sided definitions of *dharma* such as ‘*ahiṁsā* paramo dharmaḥ’ (Anuśāsanaparva 115. 1.), ‘ānṛśaṁsyam paro dharmaḥ’ (Vanaparva 373. 76), ‘ācāraḥ paramo dharmaḥ’ (Manu I. 108). Hārita defined dharma as ‘śrutipramāṇaka’¹⁵ (based on revelation). In the Buddhist sacred books the word *dharma* has several senses. It often means the whole teaching of Buddha (S. B. E. Vol. X. p. XXXIII). Another meaning of *dharma* peculiar to the Buddhist system is ‘an element of existence, i. e. of matter, mind and forces¹⁶.’

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¹³ चोदनालक्षणोर्थो धर्मः । पू. मी. सू. I. 1. 2.

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¹⁴ अथातो धर्मं व्याख्यास्यामः । यतोभ्युदयनिःश्रेयससिद्धिः स धर्मः । वैशेषिकसूत्र.

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¹⁵ अथातो धर्मं व्याख्यास्यामः । श्रुतिप्रमाणको धर्मः । श्रुतिश्च द्विविधा वैदिकी तान्त्रिकी च । quoted by कुल्लूक on मनु. 2. 1.

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¹⁶ *Vide* Dr. Stcherbatsky's monograph on ‘the central conception of Buddhism’ (1923) p. 73.

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The present work will deal with the sources of *dharma*, their contents, their chronology and other kindred matters. As the material is vast and the number of works is extremely ·large, only a few selected works and some important authors will be taken up for detailed treatment. More space will be devoted to comparatively early works.

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