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Dharma (/ ˈ d ɑːr m ə /; Sanskrit: धर्म, pronounced ⓘ) is a key concept in the Indian religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. [7] The term dharma is considered untranslatable into English (or other European languages); it is understood to refer to behaviours which are in harmony with the "order and custom" that sustains life; "virtue", righteousness or "religious ...
Sanskrit plays were very popular and were staged in ancient times all over India. Now the only surviving ancient Sanskrit drama theatre is Koodiyattam, which is preserved in Kerala by the Chakyar community. This form of Sanskrit drama is thought to be at least 2000 years old and is one of the oldest living theatrical traditions in the world.
Dhamma (Pali: धम्म, romanized: dhamma; Sanskrit: धर्म, romanized: dharma) is a set of edicts that formed a policy of the 3rd Mauryan emperor Ashoka the Great, who succeeded to the Mauryan throne in modern-day India around 269 B.C.E. [1] Ashoka is considered one of the greatest kings of ancient India for his policies of public welfare.
Ancient Indian literature emphasizes that dharma is foremost. If dharma is ignored, artha and kama - profit and pleasure respectively - lead to social chaos. [ 4 ] The Gautama Dharmashastra, Apastamba Dharmasutra and Yājñavalkya Smṛti , as examples, all suggest that dharma comes first and is more important than artha and kama.
One of the best preserved ancient texts on Dharma, [3] it is also notable for mentioning and citing views of ten ancient experts on Dharma, which has led scholars to conclude that there existed a rich genre of Dharmasutras text in ancient India before this text was composed. [4] [5]
– Gautama Dharma-sūtra 1.1-1.2 The Dharma is taught in each Veda, in accordance with which we will explain it. What is given in the tradition [Smriti] is the second, and the conventions of cultured people are the third. – Baudhayana Dharma-sūtra 1.1.1-1.1.4 The Dharma is set forth in the vedas and the Traditional Texts [Smriti].
Since, moreover, Dharma was made the central subject of a literary tradition which was to become vast and extensive throughout India, while the conception of Ṛta remained largely confined to the Vedas and their commentaries, it naturally took possession of brāhmaṇical thinking even at the expense of older, exalted concepts and conceptions ...
Ashoka's edicts were the first written inscriptions in India after the ancient city of Harrapa fell to ruin. [50] Due to the influence of Ashoka's Prakrit inscriptions, Prakrit would remain the main inscriptional language for the following centuries, until the rise of inscriptional Sanskrit from the 1st century CE.