Sanatan dharm denotes an eternal, reform-free orthodoxy that English terms fail to capture
Evidence
Sanatan literally means eternal, everlasting; sanatan dharm (also rendered as sanatana dharma) is the religion that is said to have no beginning nor end. An orthodox person in the nationalist period would prefer to describe himself as someone who belonged to the āsanatan dharmā, the everlasting religion. The Anglicised terms āHinduā and āHinduismā do not capture the conservative fundamentalism inherent in sanatan dharm. While the Arya Samaj or Brahmo Samaj advocated reforms, the sanatani Hindus (the orthodoxy) believed in an eternal/sanatan Hinduism without any need for reforms. ā Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotatedā¦, 1187
Categorization
Category: Definitional Content
- DEFINE: Defines the distinction between sanatan dharm (eternal orthodoxy, no reform) and reform movements like Arya/Brahmo Samaj.
- XREF: Ties to earlier discussion of Ambedkarās caste schema in Chapter 1 of the main text where Brahmins claim eternal/sanatan status.
Related
- Sanatan dharm denotes an unreformed eternal Hinduism beyond the terms Hindu and Hinduism (similarity 0.83)
- Ambedkar rejected the sanatan doctrine of fixed eternal social standards (similarity 0.80)
- Eternalist claims about caste contradict change as the law of life (similarity 0.79)
- Sanatan dharma politically absorbs other religions to dominate rather than tolerate them (similarity 0.79)