dharma
/ˈdɑːmə
/ /ˈdəːmə /noun [mass noun]
(In Indian religion) the eternal law of the cosmos, inherent in the very nature of things.They accept the religion's basic concepts of dharma, samsara, karma, and ahimsa....
- There is a dharma for all times, sanatan dharma, because it lies there always in the soul.
- It is in the Mahabharata that we get the syncretic picture of lokasamgraha through the concepts of caturvarnashrama dharma and moksha.
In Hinduism, dharma is seen as the cosmic law both upheld by the gods and expressed in right behaviour by humans, including adherence to the social order. In Buddhism (termed dhamma), it is interpreted as universal truth or law, especially as proclaimed by the Buddha. In Jainism, it is conceived both as virtue and as a kind of fundamental substance, the medium of motion.
Origin
Sanskrit, literally 'decree or custom'.