What is the Meaning of the Word Dharma – The First Word of the Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita opens with a word that sets the tone for the entire scripture:

धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः... (1.1) In the field of Dharma, in the land of the Kurus, the warriors assembled, eager for battle…

The whole of the Geeta is all about Dharma. Even at its conclusion, Shree Krishna uses the word ‘Dharma’:

अध्येष्यते च य इमं धर्म्यं संवादमावयोः... (18.70) This conversation of ours — is Dharma itself.

But what is Dharma?

The Root of the Word

Dharma (धर्म) is derived from the Sanskrit root:

धर्म = धृ (dhṛ) — “to hold” or “to support” + मन् (form noun from the verb root)— that which holds

things together

Words like Dhairya (courage), Dharan (holding), Adhar (lip - as it is tangling and not held by anything), and Aadhar (foundation) also come from धृ.

But what is it that Dharma is holding?

What Does Dharma Hold?

A classical verse explains:

ध्रियते लोकः अनेन 

The world is held by it

धरति धारयति वा लोकम् 

It sustains or cause to be sustained the world

ध्रियते यः सः धर्मः 

That which is upheld — is Dharma

So Dharma is something that holds the world or the people, the society, however, the people also needs to uphold the Dharma.

If people follow the moral codes, righteousness, and do the right thing, it will be said that people are following the Dharma. And this Dharma will sustain the Society, Humanity, hold the world together, and save it from falling apart. Because in the absence of Law, order, morality, humanity will fall into chaos leading to its self-destruction.

Thus, Dharma sustains the world, if the world upholds the Dharma.

Thus, although it cannot be accurately translated into a single English word, It is righteousness, responsibility, cosmic balance — all in one. 

At the individual level, it is doing the right thing in the given circumstances. And it is not as easy as it sounds, as evident from the example of Arjuna in the first chapter of the Geeta.