Dharma
Etymology
From Sanskrit “dharma,” from the root “dhṛ” (to hold, bear, sustain) — literally “that which upholds.” In Hindu thought it spans cosmic law, social duty, and righteousness; in Buddhism it also names the Buddha’s teaching and the truth of things. Its breadth is the point: it binds the structure of reality to the obligations that structure places on a person.
noun · /DAR-muh/
In Indian traditions, the cosmic order and the right conduct or duty that upholds it.
What it names
The fusion of "how the world is ordered" and "how one ought to act" into a single concept with no clean English equivalent.
Example
He framed leaving the lucrative job as following his dharma, a duty he couldn’t reduce to a pros-and-cons list.
Related idea
Where karma names the moral consequences of action across lives, dharma names the order and duty that tell you which actions are right in the first place.