dharma
Dharma, from the root dhri (to hold or sustain), is a wide concept covering religion, morality, duty and law. Hindu legal theory treats law as a part of dharma, not as the command of the king; the king himself is bound by it. The traditional sources of dharma are shruti (the Vedas), smriti (the Dharmashastras), sadachara (the practice of the virtuous) and atmatushti (what is agreeable to one's conscience).
The Dharmashastras divide dharma into achara (conduct), vyavahara (legal procedure and civil and criminal law) and prayaschitta (penance). Students compare it with the Western idea of law as a sovereign's command.
Example
Ancient Hindu jurists treated the king as bound by dharma, so law was not merely the sovereign's command.
See also
dharmashastra · danda · dandaniti
Read more in the study notes
- Kinds of accounts, opening an account, and special classes of customers (Banking Law)
- Suits by or against firms, minors and persons of unsound mind, indigent persons, and interpleader suits (Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act)
- Articles 25 to 28: freedom of religion and secularism (Constitutional Law I)
- Agreement and contract: meaning, essentials and kinds (Contract I)
- Minor's agreements (Contract I)
- Persons of unsound mind and persons disqualified by law (Contract I)