Sanatan dharma denoted an orthodoxy rejecting reform unlike reformist sects.

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 ‘sanatan dharm’, the everlasting religion. The Anglicised terms ‘Hindu’ and ‘Hinduism’ 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. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1187

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains sanatan dharma as distinct from reformist Hinduism and from the anglicized terms ‘Hindu’/‘Hinduism’.
• XREF: Context for the Gandhi-sanatani tension that animates Ambedkar’s whole anti-caste argument. — connects to: Sanatan dharma politically absorbs other religions to dominate rather than tolerate them — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 160; Sanatan dharm denotes an eternal, reform-free orthodoxy that English terms fail to capture; Sanatan dharma serves politically as a tool of religious assimilation and domination — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 160 (+5 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Sanatan dharma politically absorbs other religions to dominate rather than tolerate them — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 160; Sanatan dharm denotes an eternal, reform-free orthodoxy that English terms fail to capture; Sanatan dharma serves politically as a tool of religious assimilation and domination — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 160 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Sanatan dharm denotes an eternal, reform-free orthodoxy that English terms fail to capture #corroborates (0.95)
• Sanatan dharm denotes an unreformed eternal Hinduism beyond the terms Hindu and Hinduism #corroborates (0.92)
• Reframing dharma as changeable law rather than religion enables its reform. #complicates (0.72) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 998
• Reform of caste requires denying scriptural authority, not reinterpreting it #complicates (0.71) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 115
• Institutionalization is necessary but codified orthodoxy is to be resisted. #complicates (0.70)