Dr. Ashish Anand
Assistant Professor (Contractual), Vasanta College for Women, Rajghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
E-mail: ashishanand.phd@gmail.com
Issue: Vol. 2 No. 3 (September 2026) – Anubodhan
Received: 21 September 2026 / Revised: 28 September / Accepted: 30 September 2026 / Published: 30 September 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.65885/anubodhan.v2n3.2026.134
Abstract
The present work explores the concept of dharma in the classical Indian philosophical tradition. As proposed in the work, dharma cannot be reduced to any code of duties and obligations of particular social status. Thus, contrary to the traditional view of dharma being reduced to a deontological code of duties for different castes, the paper explores the nature of right actions in the light of particular characteristics of agents and their wisdom as reflected in Mahābhārata, Dharmaśāstras, and the tenfold virtues of Manusmṛti. Based on the research carried out by scholars such as Matilal, Mohanty, Kuppuswamy, Creel, and Edgerton, the work makes an effort to demonstrate the difference between the context-dependent nature of dharma and the nature of Kantian duty as an imposition and exceptionless norm, giving examples of Kauṣika narrative and moral improvisations of Kṛṣṇa in terms of āpad dharma. Also, the work discusses the concept of niṣkāma karma as presented in the Bhagavad Gītā and emphasises its internalist nature, as well as exploring the principles of Buddhism and Jainism and comparing the virtues of non-violence, truthfulness, and self-restraint in their ethical frameworks represented by the Eightfold Path and pañcamahāvratas correspondingly.
Keywords: Aristotelian ethics, Dharma, virtue ethics, Indian philosophy, Bhagavad Gītā, Manusmṛti, Buddhism, Jainism.
How to cite: Anand, A. (2026). Beyond Duty: Dharma, Character, and the Case for a Virtue Ethics of Indian Philosophy. Anubodhan, 2(3), 376–388. https://doi.org/10.65885/anubodhan.v2n3.2026.134