Hinduism

=== {{IAST|Sanātana Dharma}} ===
{{See also|Sanātanī}}

[[File:Srirangam-Rajagopuram-1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam|Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple]] dedicated to the [[Hindu]] deity [[Vishnu]] is said to be worshiped by '''[[Ikshvaku]]''' and the descendants of ([[Solar dynasty|Ikshvaku Vamsam]]).<ref>Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya kanda, sarga 6, sloka 1, 2 and 3</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/Srirangam-temple-rich-with-elaborate-details/article59829979.ece|title=Srirangam temple rich with elaborate details|newspaper=The Hindu|date=3 April 2014|accessdate=28 August 2023|via=www.thehindu.com|archive-date=16 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816200421/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/Srirangam-temple-rich-with-elaborate-details/article59829979.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/was-ram-born-in-ayodhya/articleshow/77380259.cms|title=Was Ram born in Ayodhya?|website=Mumbai Mirror|accessdate=28 August 2023|archive-date=14 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814150318/https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/was-ram-born-in-ayodhya/articleshow/77380259.cms|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

To its adherents, Hinduism is a traditional way of life.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Insoll |first=Timothy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNxnYjYRuOMC&pg=PA35 |title=Archaeology and world religion |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-22155-9 |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174124/https://books.google.com/books?id=QNxnYjYRuOMC&pg=PA35 |url-status=live }}</ref> Many practitioners refer to the "orthodox" form of Hinduism as ''[[Sanātana Dharma|{{IAST|Sanātana Dharma}}]]'', "the eternal law" or the "eternal way".<ref>{{harvnb|Bowker|2000}}; {{harvnb|Harvey|2001|p=xiii}}</ref>{{sfn|Vivekjivandas|2010|p=1}} Hindus regard Hinduism to be thousands of years old. The [[Puranic chronology]], as narrated in the [[Mahabharata]], [[Ramayana]], and the [[Puranas]], envisions a timeline of events related to Hinduism starting well before{{Weasel inline|date=February 2024}} 3000 BCE. The word ''dharma'' is used here to mean ''[[religion]]'' similar to modern [[Indo-Aryan languages]], rather than with its original Sanskrit meaning. All aspects of a Hindu life, namely acquiring wealth (''artha''), fulfilment of desires (''kama''), and attaining liberation (''moksha''), are viewed here as part of "dharma", which encapsulates the "right way of living" and eternal harmonious principles in their fulfilment.{{sfn|Knott|1998|p=111}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hacker |first=Paul |title=Dharma in Hinduism |journal=Journal of Indian Philosophy |year=2006 |volume=34 |issue=5 |pages=479–496 |doi=10.1007/s10781-006-9002-4|s2cid=170922678 }}</ref> The use of the term ''Sanātana Dharma'' for Hinduism is a modern usage, based on the belief that the origins of Hinduism lie beyond human history, as revealed in the [[Hindu texts]].{{sfn|Knott|1998|pp=3, 5, 117}}{{sfn|Bowker|2000}}{{sfn|Harvey|2001|p=xiii}}{{sfn|Parpola|2015|p=3}}{{Clarify|reason=Not clear what is revaalex in Hindu texts.|date=February 2024}}

''Sanātana Dharma'' refers to "timeless, eternal set of truths" and this is how Hindus view the origins of their religion. It is viewed as those eternal truths and tradition with origins beyond human history, truths divinely revealed ([[Shruti]]) in the [[Vedas]] – the most ancient of the world's scriptures.{{sfn|Hatcher|2015|pp=4–5, 69–71, 150–152}}{{sfn|Knott|1998|p=3}} To many Hindus, Hinduism is a tradition that can be traced at least to the ancient Vedic era. The Western term "religion" to the extent it means "dogma and an institution traceable to a single founder" is inappropriate for their tradition, states Hatcher.{{sfn|Hatcher|2015|pp=4–5, 69–71, 150–152}}{{sfn|Lipner|2009|pp=15–17}}{{refn|group=note|The term ''sanatana dharma'' and its Vedic roots had another context in the colonial era, particularly the early 19th-century through movements such as the [[Brahmo Samaj]] and the [[Arya Samaj]]. These movements, particularly active in British and French colonies outside India, such as in Africa and the Caribbean, interpreted Hinduism to be a monotheistic religion and attempted to demonstrate that it to be similar to Christianity and Islam. Their views were opposed by other Hindus such as the Sanatan Dharma Sabha of 1895.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XOyYCgAAQBAJ |title=The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions: Volume 1: A – L; Volume 2: M – Z |last2=Case |first2=Frederick I. |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-252-09433-0 |pages=902–903 |access-date=25 July 2018 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328155559/https://books.google.com/books?id=XOyYCgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

''{{IAST|Sanātana Dharma}}'' historically referred to the "eternal" duties religiously ordained in Hinduism, duties such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings (''[[ahimsa|ahiṃsā]]''), purity, goodwill, mercy, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, generosity, and asceticism. These duties applied regardless of a Hindu's class, caste, or sect, and they contrasted with [[svadharma]], one's "own duty", in accordance with one's class or caste (''varṇa'') and stage in life ([[puruṣārtha]]).<ref name="EB-sanatana dharma" group="web">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Sanatana dharma {{!}} Hinduism |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/665848/sanatana-dharma |access-date=17 November 2016 |archive-date=3 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503143650/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/665848/sanatana-dharma |url-status=live }}</ref> In recent years, the term has been used by Hindu leaders, reformers, and nationalists to refer to Hinduism. Sanatana dharma has become a synonym for the "eternal" truth and teachings of Hinduism, that transcend history and are "unchanging, indivisible and ultimately nonsectarian".<ref name="EB-sanatana dharma" group="web" />