Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers | Third Edition | By Pearson

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Dhamma: Buddha’s and Aśoka’s

—Mahendra Prasad Singh

Dharma (Sanskrit)/Dhamma (Pali) is a foundational concept in ancient India’s social and political thought. Derived from the root dhri in classical Sanskrit, it means to uphold or wear or something worthy of maintaining or imbibing. It is common to Vedic/Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh worldviews—except Sikhism (founded in the 16th century CE), dating back to early or mid first millennium BCE. It was translated into English for religion, but there is, in fact, no English equivalent to the Indian term. The term ‘religion’ applies more aptly to the major Abrahmic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, originating in the 7th century BCE, 1st century CE and 7th century CE, respectively. ...