dharma, which is the law of its being. Dharma or virtue is conformity with the truth of things; adharma or vice is the opposite of it.
Dharma runs majestically and clearly in all the Hindu scriptures, which illustrate, explain and even prove that ‘victory and righteousness go together’ (‘Yato dharma tato jayah’). “Dharma”, according to the philosopher President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, “is the very core of Hindu code of behaviour and view of life which is an attempt to discover the ideal possibilities of human life.”
The very first verse of Bharata Savitri enunciates the prime importance of Dharma in the words

of sage Vyasa himself. “With raised hands,” says he, “I cry aloud; nobody hears me. It is from dharma that Artha (wealth) and Kama (pleasure) arise. Why is dharma not followed?” And the last verse of Bharata Savitri reads, “Not out of passion or fear or avarice, not even for the sake of life should one abandon dharma. Dharma is everlasting; happiness and misery are transitory. The soul is eternal; that which embodies it, is not eternal.”
The popular Hindu dictum, ‘Dharmo rakshati rakshitaha’ (Dharma protects those who protect it), has two implications. The first one is: Dharmo rakshati, meaning that dharma offers protection. If we choose to live a life guided by the principles of dharma, then we are assured that dharma will protect us. This understanding is ingrained in the Hindu ethos. The other part of the phrase is: rakshitaha. This part brings individuals and society into a convergence. It (rakshithaha) implies that the concept itself needs protection, meaning that there is a need to protect the very concept, the protection of which we are seeking. It, therefore, follows that dharma will protect us if we protect

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