The Truth of Dharma and the Dharma of Truth: Reflections on Hinduism as a Dharmic Faith

This article discusses what it might mean to characterize traditional Hinduism as a dharmic faith in relation to the concepts of truth (satyam) and its opposite (anṛtam), without however expatiating on supposed contrasts between Hinduism and the “Abrahamic” faiths. The argument is conducted by recognizing two senses to anṛtam, namely, “non-truth” and “falsehood,” in contrast to satyam; and the method used is inductive in that a historically well-known episode of the Mahābhārata—the story of Kauśika and the bandits—and its authoritative interpretation by the deity Kṛṣṇa in terms of satyam and anṛtam (in the Karṇaparvan, Book 8, of the text) are analyzed heuristically to indicate how dharma is viewed in the tradition qua ethical concept. The conclusion is drawn that Hindu dharma is understood as that whose objective is ultimately to bring about the welfare of the world (lokasaṅgraha). In relation to truth (and its opposite), materially, dharma is invariably contextual in connotation (in contrast to what might be a Kantian or absolutist reading of moral imperatives), whereas formally, at the hands of one commentator or other, not least in modern times, dharma is that which defines what it means to be Hindu. The material and formal connotations of dharma thus analyzed and taken together set Hinduism apart qua dharmic faith.