धर्म

Dharma (धर्म) comes from the Sanskrit root dhṛ — 'to hold, to maintain, to support.' Dharma is what holds the cosmos together: cosmic law, moral order, duty, righteousness, truth. It's all of these and none of these exactly.

In Hinduism, dharma is the moral law governing individual conduct. In Buddhism, it means the teachings of the Buddha. In Jainism, it's one of the fundamental substances of the universe.

Every attempt to translate dharma fails. 'Religion' is too narrow. 'Duty' is too secular. 'Law' is too legalistic. 'Righteousness' is too Christian. The word exists because no single Western concept covers its territory.

When Emperor Ashoka carved his edicts across India in the 3rd century BCE, he used 'dhamma' (Pali form) as his governing principle. It was the closest thing to a constitution: rule by cosmic moral order.