Concept Of Dharma Research Articles

Value-based education in NEP 2020: fostering ethical and moral growth through Dharma

PurposeThe research examines how the principle of Dharma can be included in the Indian National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The study seeks to know how Dharma as an educational framework can be infused with contemporary education to promote moral and ethical development as well as intellectual growth among students in India.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses qualitative analysis of NEP 2020 documents and literature related to Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) and the concept of Dharma. It analyses the philosophical bases behind NEP including traditional texts like Vedas, Upanishads, among others. Moreover, this study also evaluates how current Dharma teachings are implemented into curriculum by assessing its present status of incorporation as a part of Indian Knowledge System.FindingsThis research has found that national educational reforms have considered many traditional Indian beliefs and values, but they have not done enough when it comes to incorporating Indian Knowledge System and the concept of Dharma into practice through the curriculum. The paper advocates for a system that is grounded on morals, thus blending the current learning standards with cultural heritage. These findings call for continuous endeavouring in order to embed ethical and moral dimensions of Dharma across all levels within India’s education systems.Practical implicationsThe integration of Dharma and IKS in education can enhance the development of well-rounded individuals who are not only intellectually competent but also ethically and morally grounded. This strong foundation of Dharma will also act as a personal and professional guide. Educators and policymakers can use these insights to design curricula that promote holistic growth, aligning with both global educational standards and cultural values.Originality/valueThis paper examines the philosophical and ethical foundation of NEP 2020 instead of only considering its pedagogical and skill-enhancement characteristics, thereby giving a fresh viewpoint. It contributes to the discussion on educational reforms in India by highlighting how present educational needs should be linked with traditional values. The research shows that the concept of dharma can help learners develop holistically so that they can meet present-day problems without losing touch with timeless morals.

A study on the role of leadership in sustainable business practices in India

In the context of global environmental challenges and the increasing importance of sustainable development, the role of leadership in steering organizations towards sustainable business practices has become crucial, particularly in emerging economies like India. This theoretical research paper explores the impact of leadership styles and behaviors on the adoption and implementation of sustainable business practices within Indian organizations. Drawing upon a variety of leadership theories, including transformational, ethical, and servant leadership, the paper proposes a conceptual framework that links specific leadership attributes to sustainability outcomes in the Indian business context. The paper begins by examining the unique socio-economic and cultural landscape of India, which shapes the business environment and the sustainability challenges it faces. It then reviews the literature on leadership theories and their relevance to sustainability, adapting these concepts to the Indian context. The core of the paper hypothesizes that Indian leaders who exhibit transformational and ethical behaviors are more likely to foster a culture of sustainability within their organizations. This is due to their ability to articulate a clear vision of sustainability, inspire and motivate employees towards this vision, and incorporate ethical considerations into decision-making processes. Furthermore, the paper discusses the role of Indian philosophical and spiritual principles, such as the concept of Dharma (duty/righteousness) and Karma (action), in influencing leadership approaches towards sustainability. It argues that these indigenous concepts can enrich leadership practices and enhance the commitment to sustainability by aligning business operations with broader societal and environmental goals. To support its arguments, the paper synthesizes evidence from theoretical models, case studies of Indian companies that have successfully integrated sustainability into their business strategies, and interviews with business leaders known for their sustainability initiatives. Finally, the paper outlines practical implications for leadership development and policy recommendations to encourage sustainable business practices across the Indian corporate sector. By bridging the gap between leadership theory and sustainable business practices in the Indian context, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of how effective leadership can drive the transition towards more sustainable and responsible business models in emerging economies.

Approaching Kautaliya Arthashastra from the Communication Perspective

Political thoughts on good governance from the Hindu perspective are set by Dandaniti, which is guided by Dharma and Artha in a continuum. Kautilya’s Arthashastra has been one of the most influential sources of political thoughts in Hinduism since over two millennia. The treatise deals with wide-ranging subject matters including politics, economics, governance, administration, philosophy, and so on. Though the emphasis on Artha is self-evident in Arthashastra, the common guiding principle for all affairs of statecraft as envisioned by Kautilya is the concept of Dharma. For instance, raja-dharma, the duty of the King or the ruler, is discussed at length in the classic text. As evident in Arthashastra, Hinduism envisions close interconnection between peace, politics and religion, in which politics guided by Dharma is instrumental for ensuring peace in society. This classical treatise can be approached from the communication perspective, employing certain indicators.

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Armenian religious thought has conducted little research related to Buddhism. In existing studies, the teachings and religious practice of Buddhism are not fully represented. The features and ideological foundations of Buddhist religious practice are presented within the framework of the article. The main methodological approach is that in a comprehensive and systematic analysis of Buddhism, it is essential to consider the religious-philosophical and worldview approaches that have become the basis of Buddhist teachings and have evolved into religious practice. In general, Buddhist religious practice has a more emphasized cultic nature, with doctrinal aspects sometimes taking a back seat. Dogmatics is replaced by the concept of "dharma", the full description of which is one of the most complex phenomena in Buddhism. Within the framework of the article, we consider the concept of dharma as Buddha’s doctrine. This approach allows dharma to be studied in the context of the Buddhist religious system, emphasizing its religious and behavioural significance. "Dharma" is a collection of ideas, views, and beliefs followed and believed by an ordinary Buddhist. It represents the Buddhist worldview, rooted in the Four Noble Truths formulated by Buddha. Typically, each branch or school of Buddhism offers its interpretation of Buddha's teachings, professing its own version of Buddhism. Nevertheless, there are certain principles, approaches, and ideas that are present in one form or another across all branches of Buddhism. Among these, the teaching of the Four Noble Truths stands out, serving as the foundation of Buddhist religious practice. Thus, the religious practice of Buddhism is primarily based on the teachings of the Four Noble Truths. The ideological foundation of this doctrine draws from ancient Indian religious and philosophical perspectives on the world, the universe, human beings, life, death, eternal life, and more. Buddha also relies upon ancient Indian concepts of samsara and karma, introducing entirely new solutions through the Four Noble Truths regarding suffering, its causes and end, as well as liberation and salvation from suffering. The ultimate goal in Buddhist teachings is the attainment of nirvana, which becomes the central objective of Buddhist practice. The awareness, understanding, and practical application of the Four Noble Truths are fundamental features of Buddhism. This is why Buddhism can be regarded as a doctrine of the path to salvation

Ethical Concerns for the Globaltechnological Societies: Some Observations

Some ethical concerns are addressed that seem to have been omitted as the
 technologically advanced global world goes about its regular business. The following
 issues have been touched on: ‘Bypassing the conscious behavior choices and the
 dangers of compulsive use of digital technology,’ ‘the morally insensitive world of
 technology-backed marketing and advertisement,’ ‘some ethical matters for the
 digitally connected global village and globalization-influenced atmosphere,” and
 ‘the moral concerns of the economic growth of emerging economies in a technologyloaded
 world.’ It occurs that the addressed topics have a pattern. For instance,
 compulsive indulgence and proclivity for addiction to technology get pronounced as
 mindful or conscious engagement with digital gadgets and the internet are
 progressively trivialized. Additionally, technology-savvy globalized societies have
 the tendency to subscribe to hedonistic leanings, giving significant importance to
 personal space and the freedom to decide one’s lifestyle and time utilization. The
 danger dawns when technology becomes detrimental for behavior, interaction,
 relationships, and business, and the user starts experiencing the adverse impact of
 imprudent use of technology on his or her physical and psychological wellbeing and
 social world. Similarly, the matter becomes of concern when the commercial world
 decides to disregard the righteous goal of income generation (i.e., purusharth),
 conceptualized as inseparable from the concepts of dharma, or duty, and social
 responsibility. Lastly, when the values and normative standards of the technologically
 advanced affluent countries are adopted senselessly by the emerging economies rich
 in cultural wisdom and indigenous traditions, it is time for contemplation.

UNDERSTANDING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SHREEMAD BHAGAVAT MAHAPURAN'S HUMAN DUTIES: LESSONS FOR CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

This paper focuses on the significance of the Human Duties as mentioned in the Shreemad Bhagavat Mahapuran, a Hindu scripture, and its relevance to contemporary society. The paper begins with an introduction to the scripture, its history, and the overview of the Human Duties as mentioned in it. It then delves into the concept of Dharma, its meaning, and different types mentioned in the scripture. The importance of Human Duties in the scripture is discussed, and the reasons for their relevance in contemporary society are explained. The paper further highlights the lessons that can be derived from the Human Duties mentioned in the scripture and how they can be applied in daily life. The benefits of following these Human Duties in contemporary society are also emphasized. The conclusion summarizes the main points of the paper and emphasizes the significance of the Shreemad Bhagavat Mahapuran's Human Duties as a guide to lead a moral and ethical life in contemporary society.

Business Continuity: Application of The Value of Catur Purusa Artha and Product Innovation in Holding Company of BUMDes

Business management based on the local culture of catur purusa artha by making dharma (truth) the basis for carrying out all its activities, creating internal conditions in the form of a conducive work climate. This study aims to examine the application of the value of catur purusa artha and product innovation in creating business continuity. The research population is all active BUMDes in Buleleng Regency. Sampling in this study using random sampling technique in order to obtain as many as 92 observational data. The data analysis technique used in this study was the Component based SEM, Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis method. The results showed that the value of Catur purusa artha had a significant effect on product innovation. Product innovation has a significant effect on business continuity and the value of catur purusa artha affects business continuity through product innovation. This study also found that business management based on the local culture of Catur Purusa Artha by making dharma (truth), as the basis for carrying out all its activities, creates internal conditions in the form of a conducive work climate. BUMDes managers, including all employees who work comfortably based on dharma, have actually come up with creative ideas in product development. Management of business units based on dharma provides awareness to act in the truth and creates an environment that minimizes abuse of authority, including various other forms of wrongdoing. The concept of dharma also emphasizes to always provide good service to customers.

A Critical Study on Dharma with Respect to Justice in Western Jurisprudence

In this paper author tries to explain about dharma and justice, separately and than in a brief give his conclusion, regarding how they are connected to each other. Author focused on law through the concept of dharma.

Evolving Dharma Consciousness of Dharmaputra Yudhishthira within the Mahabharata

The objective of the paper to comprehend a deep implication of what dharma meant to Yudhishthira through the length of historical events related to war and philosophical questioning on the issue. He had to fight through so much in terms of pitting his intuitive understanding of dharma against a whole gamut of mundane ideas of what dharma stood for. For instance, his struggle with his brothers on the complexity of svadhrama and its rejoinder in form of sukshadharma or knowledge of subtle consciousness. His inner conflict continued and there came a time in the last parva, Svargarohana parva, when he just denounced dharma. It was through these trials and tribulations that Yudhishthira was finally able to evolve his own idea of what real truth, conduct, duty, morality and inner consciousness were about. In other words what was true dharma. Through this paper the author attempts to tease out complexities of the philosophical queries that bothered Yudhishthira and also trace his historical trajectory in the quest.
 The method of investigation would include historicizing the text. This means locating our source, the Mahabharata, on a time line and within a geographical expanse so that we get an idea when the logic of dharma mutated and in what particular region. The text had an expansive period of formulation right from the 8th Century BCE to 4th Century CE, that is, what we understand as the Gupta period. But the text had many later regional recensions as well. We are primarily looking at the older Sanskrit version of the text as recorded in V.S.Sukthankar edited Critical edition (Bhandarkar Oriental edition, Poona) of the Mahabharata. The exercise also requires reading of the magnum opus, locating the usage of the term in association with Yudhishthira and raising some significant issues. These may include queries such as what is dharma according to the Mahabharata. Is definition fixed or is it dynamic? Do all people speak of it with the same voice? Is the notion of dharma same for Yuthishthira and his Pandava brothers? Does his wife. Draupadi, subscribe to his idea of dharma? If his notion of dharma changes over time, does it have anything to do with changing consciousness of the society or at least some people within the society? Can we get a sense of a subtle move towards a shift from karma yoga to jnana yoga and finally to bhakti yoga? In this changing paradigm where do we locate the dharma philosophy of Dharmaputra Yudhishthira, especially as there comes a time when he himself begins questioning the idea of dharma? In a sense his character brings out the dilemmas arising out of the differences in meanings and approaches of comprehending the complexities associated with the concept of dharma.
 Another point of our methodology would be to understand the etymology of the term dharma and its location in the ancient language. The Sanskrit root of the word is dhr, 'to support', 'to sustain'. In other words, it means that whereby whatever lives, is sustained, upheld, supported. More often than not, the word dharma in its ancient usage denoted the moral realm in its widest sense, meaning both morality as an ideal— man's eternal quest for the good, the right, the just—as well as the given, actual framework of norms, rules, maxims, principles that guide human action. It was integral to the doctrine of purushartha or that of the four goals of a human being; these being artha (success/material possessions), kama (passion/procreation), dharma (virtue/religious duty), moksha (self-perfection). All the four are intertwined. Throughout the epic we witness the evolution of Yudhishthira’s notion of true dharma. What comes out strongly is his holding fast to the value of nonviolence (anrishṃsya), his identification with the sukshma or subtle nature of dharma, his insistence on constricted use of brute force as a part of Kshatriya dharma, his ultimate benevolence towards his family and people. These were actually revealed to be the cause of his indisputable success in Dharma’s recurrent tests. Somewhere by the end of the epic, Yudhishthira’s error in entering into the game of dice, getting in conflict with his brothers on the issue of his duty and not being able to answer Draupadi’s queries initially appear as stepping stones in self-realization to a deeper understanding of what dharma as duty, conduct, search for truth and morality were all about. The orderly world of dharma, which was so central to his character, was eventually arrived at only through repeated trials and tribulations

Bhakti, dharma e vairāgya nell’agiografia di Pīpā

Pīpā was the rājā of Gagraun in Rājashān in XV century. According to his hagiography, he went to Banāras, following a divine inspiration, and became disciple of Rāmānanda. He left his kingdom together with his youngest wife, the beautiful Sītā, for living the poor and ascetic life of a sādhu . His sādhanā consisted mainly in humble service of bhakta -s, sādhu -s and poor. Although the figure of Pīpā does not have a great relevance in the history of Indian religions, nor in Hindī literature as a sant -poet, his very adventurous life inspired the hagiographers, so that his legend is one of the more extended and widespread of North Indian hagiography. This article focuses mainly on Bhaktamāl and its two main commentaries. The critical analysis of Pīpā and Sītā’s hagiography reveals how in “ bhakti religion” the concepts of dharma and vairāgya were reformulated and entirely subordinated to bhakti . Moreover, the doctrine of the identity of bhakta and Bhagavān is a fundamental key for understanding how, in bhakti movements and, consequently, in hagiography, bhakta-sevā becomes the meeting point of bhakti , dharma and vairāgya , as in the story of Pīpā and Sītā Sahcarī.

Perspectives of Hinduism and Zoroastrianism on abortion: a comparative study between two pro-life ancient sisters

Hinduism and Zoroastrianism have strong historical bonds and share similar value-systems. As an instance, both of these religions are pro-life. Abortion has been explicitly mentioned in Zoroastrian Holy Scriptures including Avesta, Shayast-Nashayast and Arda Viraf Nameh. According to Zoroastrian moral teachings, abortion is evil for two reasons: killing an innocent and intrinsically good person, and the contamination caused by the dead body (Nashu). In Hinduism, the key concepts involving moral deliberations on abortion are Ahimsa, Karma and reincarnation. Accordingly, abortion deliberately disrupts the process of reincarnation, and killing an innocent human being is not only in contrast with the concept of Ahimsa, but also places a serious karmic burden on its agent. The most noteworthy similarity between Zoroastrianism and Hinduism is their pro-life approach. The concept of Asha in Zoroastrianism is like the concept of Dharma in Hinduism, referring to a superior law of the universe and the bright path of life for the believers. In terms of differences, Zoroastrianism is a religion boasting a God, a prophet, and a Holy book, while Hinduism lacks all these features. Instead of reincarnation and rebirth, Zoroastrianism, like Abrahamic religions, believes in the afterlife. Also, in contrast with the concept of Karma, in Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda can either punish or forgive sins.

Digressions on Polytropy: An Exploration of Religious Eclecticism in Eurasia

The anthropologist Michael Carrithers introduced the notion of polytropy in the field of the study of religion, proposing that this notion (deriving from the Greek poly, ‘many’, and tropos, ‘turning’) may account for the eclecticism and fluidity of South Asian religious life. The exploration effectuated in the article suggests that the notion of polytropy could offer a promising tool for capturing some important features of religiosity in other Asiatic contexts, too, as well as in the Mediterranean. Polytropic trends appear in different religious contexts, from the fuzzy Chinese situation, where religious affiliations are very limited in their scope and relevance, to the South Asian contexts, in which religious orientations coalesce around the multivocal concept of dharma, to the tightly structured Abrahamic religions in the Mediterranean with their strong confessionalism. Polytropy is associated with a practical mode of religiosity and is linked to a particular conception of believing in which the believer tends to multiply the transactions with different supra-mundane partners. This orientation is distinct from religious styles that are based on a discursive and scriptural approach and/or on the cultivation of oneself, which often display a tendency towards unity, coherence and continuity. This permits identifying an opposite pole with respect to polytropy, which I define as monotropy.

The Concept of Justice in Buddhism: A Case Study of Caṇḍāla in Jātakaṭṭhakathā

This article aims to study the function of Caṇḍāla, the outer caste character in Jātakaṭṭhakathā, the stories of the prior lives of the Buddha, and to study the relationship between the Caṇḍāla characters and the concept of justice in these Jātaka stories. In order to construct the concept of justice in Buddhism, and the framework of this study, Rawls’ theory regarding justice as fairness is used as a guideline for exploration of the Sutta, the Buddhist canon. The study reveals that the Caṇḍāla characters appear in nine Jātakas, playing significant roles in parts of many the prose narratives and the connection part of the story in order to illustrate that a low caste person can attain enlightenment. Three concepts of Dharma are conveyed by the Caṇḍāla characters in Jātakaṭṭhakathā: firstly, defilement causes humans in every caste to have suffering; secondly, every occurrence in one’s life depends on karma; and thirdly, humans in every caste have the potential to accomplish wisdom by understanding the path to eradicate suffering.

Disintegration of the Moral Economy in Gopinath Mohanty’s Paraja

This article suggests that the concept of the moral economy of the peasant, as defined by James C. Scott, in the context of Southeast Asia, provides a compelling theoretical framework through which one can examine Gopinath Mohanty’s novel Paraja (1945), 2 2 This article takes its cue from a brilliant article written by Shashi Bhushan Upadhyay in which he usefully employs the concept of moral economy to analyse the peasant narratives of Premchand. See Shashi Bhushan Upadhyay, ‘Premchand and the Moral Economy of Peasantry in Colonial North India’, Modern Asian Studies 45, no. 5 (2011): 1227–59. However, while Upadhyay equates the idea of moral economy with the traditional Indian concept of dharma, in order to explain the passivity of Premchand’s peasant protagonists, I have endeavoured to demonstrate, in this article, the disintegration of the moral economy in Gopinath Mohanty’s novel Paraja, and how such disintegration may precipitate resistance and a strong sense of moral outrage. an unparalleled achievement in Oriya literature that narrates the predicament of the tribal peasants of the Koraput region. It demonstrates how the encroachment of the colonial state on the invaluable resources of the tribal peasants in Mohanty’s novel results in an escalating disintegration of the moral economy which in turn precipitates resistance and a strong sense of moral outrage. However, instead of collective rebellion that Scott discusses about, in his groundbreaking work, in Mohanty’s novel, we find several instances of everyday forms of resistance, a concept that Scott formulates in his subsequent works. This not only helps us to understand and make sense of the motives and intentions of the tribal peasants in the novel but also underscores the abiding relevance and timeless appeal of Mohanty’s work, even in the post-Nehruvian nation-state, where the problems confronting the tribal peasants in the wake of globalisation are increasingly acute, virtually insurmountable and even more pronounced than ever before.

The concept of dharma in Indian jurisprudence

This paper deals with the concept of Dharma and its application in the field of Jurisprudence. How Dharma has influenced the law, is one such aspect which has been explained in this paper. Dharma, basically refers to the virtuous conduct of a person and relationship with his religion. The notion of Dharma, draws its inspiration from sources like the Vedas, and thus is a concept which is time immemorial. Dharma is closely related to Jurisprudence as it deals with what is right and what is wrong. Dharma has been explained, in the Mahabharata to be that which helps the upliftment of living beings. Therefore, that which ensures the welfare of living beings is surely Dharma. The learned rishis have declared that which sustains is Dharma2

Gandhi: A Spiritual Biography by Arvind Sharma (review)

Reviewed by: Gandhi: A Spiritual Biography by Arvind Sharma Sushumna Kannan (bio) Gandhi: A Spiritual Biography. By Arvind Sharma. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2013. Pp. vii + 252. isbn 978-0-300-18596-6. As is evident from the title of his new book, Gandhi: A Spiritual Biography, Arvind Sharma aims at tracing Gandhi’s life from the perspective of spirituality. The introduction begins by suggesting that some aspects of Gandhi’s life find explanation when viewed through prisms that qualify human beings as “spiritual beings having a human experience” (p. 4). It is then argued that the thesis that the source of Gandhi’s strength and leadership was spiritual is a strong one and worth investigating. The context for such a project is well-prompted in the face of many understandings of Gandhi as an individual accessing Hinduism in unique and intuitive ways as well as evolving spiritual principles in a specifically religion-neutral manner. Structurally, the book is divided into two parts. The first part describes and discusses all that could be considered spiritual in Gandhi’s life in his own words, mostly through his autobiography. This part acts as a typical biography, providing details of the significant events in Gandhi’s life. The second part is analytical and, through various sources, picks specific themes that prompt understandings of Gandhi as a spiritual person and the kind of spirituality he could be seen as upholding. The first part uses questions at pertinent points, enriching the content and defying what could otherwise have been a monotonous narrative. Most of these questions have to do with Gandhi’s ideas, the nature of their formation, and his influences. In his autobiography, Gandhi views his actions in retrospect and interjects his storytelling with thoughts such as “God in his infinite mercy protected me from myself,” which Sharma, as the spiritual biographer, duly notes and contextualizes (p. 19). Here, the analysis could have explored the nature of spirituality as something that gains greater relevance in later life—in keeping with similar insights from the Indian spiritual traditions. But Sharma draws on other ideas from, say, the Islamic tradition to suggest that “God turning his face toward us” could be a significant occurrence (p. 20). Though such analyses are a matter of authorial choice, a theory of the uniqueness of the Indian spiritual traditions from times prior to Gandhi, if proposed right at the beginning of the book, might have offered a richer view. Sharma does offer many small clarifications in a general manner that shed light on Hinduism and at times locate its uniqueness in contrast to both practical wisdom and also the enlightenment logic that re-defined the ideal place of God and man. Some comparisons and contrasts with other religious and spiritual traditions help cull [End Page 643] out aspects of Hinduism well. For instance, Sharma notes that “even hostility toward God can lead to salvation” (p. 23). Concepts of dharma and satya are explained through their unique usage by Gandhi, and these help the non-Indian reader in navigating the book. The only drawback of the first part of the book is its excessive reliance on Gandhi’s autobiography. Other perspectives from archival documents could have been used to avoid this. However, the occasional reliance on other biographies helps in alleviating this to some extent. Gandhi’s travel abroad and his subsequent realization of Hinduism’s place in the context of world religions are described interestingly through the prism of a contemporary traveler’s experiences. This contemporizing approach works well to cull out the issues involved. Gandhi’s Christian and other influences are duly recorded here. Sharma’s understanding that different movements from elsewhere “led him [Gandhi] to further explore his own Hindu background” lends greater credibility to the general experience of Indians traveling Westward (p. 38). That theosophy’s influence on Gandhi “re-introduced … a major text of his own tradition, the Bhagavad Gita” and “disabused him of the notion, fostered by the missionaries, that Hinduism is rife with superstition” is convincing and compatible with the cross-cultural experiences of the well traveled (p. 39). Again, Gandhi’s shame at not having read the Gītā in...

Sustainable development goals and human moral obligations: the ends and means relation

This paper aims at understanding Sustainable Development Goals as normative ends to be achieved by normative means in the context of global ethics. It distinguishes the descriptive and the normative senses of sustainability and development and puts forward a case for exploring the role of human moral obligations (as understood in the light of the concept of dharma) as the normative means to attain the goals of sustainable development. It argues that it is only when basic human moral obligations and role-related obligations are fulfilled that human well-being and that of the non-human elements of the eco-system can be achieved. Furthermore, it also explains how such a concept can be inclusive, diverse and integrative.

Review of Alf Hiltebeitel, Dharma: Its Early History in Law, Religion and Narrative

In this hefty volume, Alf Hiltebeitel takes on the ambitious task of tracing the history of the concept of dharma in classical Indic literature. In foregrounding the theme of dharma through time, Hiltebeitel seeks to overcome ‘a nebulous, ahistorical conception of the term that many still have today’ (p. 2), a conception that reflects the influence of ideological projections of an eternal dharma. One of the aims of the book is to highlight instances in which both the Brahmanical and Buddhist traditions themselves conceive dharma over time. This book combines an enormous scope, covering both Brahmanical and Buddhist texts from approximately 300 BCE to 200 CE, with detailed textual analysis. It resists broad generalizations, as evident in the conspicuous absence of a concluding chapter. Accordingly it is a difficult book to summarize in the compass of a short review. All I can do here is describe the overall structure of the work and highlight some of its salient points. The author tells us that the starting point of the project was his study of Aśvagona's Buddhacarita, the subject of the book's final chapter. There Hiltebeitel argues that dharma was a central concern of this second century account of the life of the Buddha. Specifically, in recounting the life of the Buddha, Aśvagona articulated a characteristically Buddhist conception of dharma in conscious contrast to those found in the Brahmanical epics, theMahābhārata and Rāmayana. Against the concern of the epics to correlate norms of proper behavior to distinct stages of life (āśramadharma), the Buddhacarita uses Siddhartha's ‘great departure’ to exemplify the Buddhist idea that ‘there is no such thing as a wrong time for dharma.’ More generally, Hiltebeitel credits Aśvagona with ‘putting dharma to use as a term of civil discourse with his Brahmanical counterparts’ (p. 4). In other words, the Buddhacarita exemplifies the use of dharma as a common term for the articulation and contestation of new norms. This final chapter on the Buddhacarita, arguably the most focused and compelling of the book, can be understood as the telos and organizing principle for the 12 SOPHIA (2012) 51:579–580 DOI 10.1007/s11841-012-0329-x

International Humanitarian Law: An Ancient Indian Perspective

This paper begins with the discussion of Hinduism and the concept of dharma, widely translated as way of righteousness. The paper further traces the analogical deductions of the origin of the international humanitarian law from the ancient Indian texts. The paper also tries to trace back to the ancient Indian warfare methods and techniques to establish the correlation and roots of international law and international humanitarian law with the concept and philosophy of Hinduism. The paper tries to prove that war as an art as well as a science was equally well understood in ancient India. The sources of ancient India, which are the sources of Hinduism, support the statement that the Indian civilisation was the first to discover the means and the laws of war. The ancient Indian texts established rules for the conduct of rulers towards their people, including, for example, the obligation to treat the vanquished humanely and the prohibition of poisoned weapons.

Análise semiótica do dharma

In the history of the studies of Indian thought, most researches about the concept of dharma have taken one of two paths: either to study the concept by choosing one of its senses, restricting only to its analysis, or taking into consideration the polysemy of the word, simply pointing it out and indicating the various meanings. With no depreciation to the contributions made to the studies undertaken so far, this text aims to present an alternative to the comprehension of such concept, by addressing the matter from another theoretical perspective: using not philology, logic or history of thought, but the theoretical apparatus offered by semiotics. This essay presents a brief context of the historical moment when these texts were written. We then proceed to an analysis of the texts, aiming at the comprehension of the modelization and modalization functions produced by the dharma in the Indian culture of the Epic-Brahmanic period. For the analysis, the corpus used was comprised of texts from the Sutta Pit .aka, an anthology of texts of the Theravada Buddhism, and the ¯ Bhagavad-G¯ita¯, one of the most important texts of the orthodox Brahmanism. Both texts were written in a period of the Indian history called Epic-Brahmanic, one of the greatest cultural production periods in India, when some of the most important texts of this country’s thoughts were written, texts that have some influence in its culture even nowadays.