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Dhṛti orDhriti orDhruti (Sanskrit:धृति), means to 'act with determination',[1] 'patience',[2] 'firmness',[3] and refers to 'perseverance',[4] 'wearing regularly'.[5]
Dhruti, meaning 'fortitude' and 'determination', is defined as the subtle faculty in a person that makes them strive continuously towards a goal. Dhruti is a quality of peace, courage, patience, enthusiasm, and perseverance to face and overcome all odds and obstacles.[citation needed]
Dhrti is one of theyamas, one of the elevenRudrāṇīs.[6] There is no correct equivalent English word fordhrti which is derived fromdhr- meaning 'to bear'.[7] Dhriti was reborn as Madri in theMahabharata.[8]
Lakshmi is referred to the epithet of Dhruti or Dhriti in the Lakshmi Sahasranama to describe her quality of courage and light.[9]
The name Dhriti also appears in theLalita Sahasranama.[10]
Dhrti is the name of aVedicmetre of the type 12.12.8|12.8|12.8., and is a variety of theatichandas.[11] It is also the name of a yoga in theHindu Calendar. TheVedicRishis address their prayers to theVisvedevas just as they do theAdityas and theMaruts; who all as a group are the protectors of the tenRtas includingDhrti ('forbearance') which word represents an abstract idea likeHri andKirti.[12]
As part of the performance of theAshvamedha yajna, as mentioned in theShatapatha Brahmana,Asvalayana-srauta-sutra, andSankhayana-srauta-sutra, theAdhvaryu offered, for the safe movement of the Sacrificial Horse during day-time, threeIstis daily toSavitr and at nightfall performed fourDhrti Homas for the safe sheltering of that horse during night-time. While theDhrti Homas were in progress, aRajanya (Kshatriya) lute-player (veenagathi) sang three songs (Gatha) made up of many verses in which he praised the royal-sacrificer with the mention of his heroic exploits, viz., the wars he waged, the battles he won, the conquests he made, so on.[13]
ThePurana Index listsDhrti, borne byVijaya, as one of the sons ofDharma who was the son ofBrahma, and who married all thirteen daughters ofDaksha, each of whom boreDhrti a son.Dhrtavarta was the son ofDhrti and father ofSatyakarma.Nandi was a consort ofDhrti.Niyama was a son ofDhrti. And,Dhrti ('courage') is invoked in theGrahabalis.[14]
In theStuti ofDevi Bhagavatam (V.22.25-42),Devi, who is the Energy for the creation and destruction of the universe, has been praised as having many names and as residing in all in the form ofshakti ('power and energy'),amrti ('memory'),dhrti ('steadfastness'),buddhi ('intelligence'), so on.[15]
Dhrti meaning 'fortitude' and 'determination' is defined as the subtle faculty in man that makes him strive continuously towards a goal. It provides courage, enthusiasm and perseverance to face and overcome all odds and obstacles.[16] With regard to the three types ofDhrtis mentioned in the BhagavadGita, Swami Tejomayananda states thatSattvic dhrti is the unswerving fortitude with which one works for a noble cause with enthusiasm and dedication, despite obstacles;Rajasic dhrti is the fortitude displayed for a while, in a part, place or under particular circumstances to achieve particular goals and may dissolve under different circumstances and situations, andTamasic dhrti is the stubbornness with which one holds on to the false.[17]
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar suggests the three gunas that is determination, similar to dhrti; "The ambition (rajastic) keeps the faith alive. Satvic faith is innocence and is born out of fullness of consciousness." Tamasic faith is due to dullness, complacent that only God will take care of all these things. If there is no faith, there is fear. "In Gyana (state of wisdom) there is alertness without tension [or fear] and faith without complacency." To be one who possesses the higher spiritual knowledge.[18]
The two factors that supply the fuel and the motive force in all sustained endeavours are -buddhi ('understanding') anddhrti ('fortitude'), the former is 'the intellectual capacity to grasp what is happening' and the latter is 'the constancy of purpose and self-application'.[19]Abhinavagupta states that since everyone works therefore, everyone possessesdhrti; he holdsbuddhi to mean 'resolution' anddhrti to mean 'satisfaction'.[20]
InHinduism, four things viz.Śruti andSmriti which are society’s codes of ethics,sadacara which is good noble conduct accepted by society; andsvasya ca priyam atmanah which is one’s own joy and pleasure, determineDharma. Thesanatana dharma is the eternal universal values to be followed by all people in life, andvarnasrama dharma consists of specific duties given to each individual; Dharma means that holds everyone and everything together which leads to material prosperity and spiritual realization in this life itself. According toManu,Dhrti is one of the ten values necessary for all people at all times that characterize Dharma.Dhrti means fortitude; it means the capacity to hold on to something. It is thesattavic dhrti which is strength, force and ability that makes us hold on to noble values of life.[21]
Sattavic dhrti andSattvic buddhi are mutually related terms.Krishna explains toArjuna (Bhagavad Gita Sl. XVIII.30):
Meaning; "That which knows the paths of work and renunciation, what ought to be done and what not to be done, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation, that 'understanding' issattvic ('pure')." In the Bhagavad Gita the nature of Sattvic reasoning, Rajasic reasoning and Tamasic reasoning is described this way, as paths of work and renunciation. Which means the function of the intellect isdiscrimination, the faculty of 'right understanding ' (buddhi) which gives real joy, success and prosperity. With regard to sattvic dhrti he states (Bhagavad Gita l. XVIII.33):
The unwavering 'fortitude' by which throughYoga, the functions of the mind, thePrana and the senses are restrained, that 'fortitude', issattvic ('pure').[22][23][24]In this contextSankara in his Bhasya on the Bhagavad Gita explains that 'action' (way of works) is movement leading to bondage and 'inaction' (renunciation) leads to liberation. The remote expression – unwavering or unfaltering or unbroken concentration, should be related to resolve ordhrti; the sense is that the functions of the mind and so forth, maintained through unfaltering resolve, are in fact maintained through concentration.[25]
Patanjali’sYoga Sutra II.28 reads:-
This means – as impurities are eliminated through the observance of the steps ofyoga, a gradual kindling of knowledge occurs up to the full illumination of discriminatory wisdom. Discriminatory wisdom as virtue is the cause of happiness, and both, Vyasa and Vijnanabhikshu in their commentaries list nine causes including as the ninth causeDhrti here meaning sustenance; and agree that theyoga-angas eradicate the impurity in both tangible (drshta) and intangible (adrshta) ways i.e. the physical practices such as purification (shaucha), and throughjapa. Elimination means disappearance of the veil on thesattva mind-field. The body is the sustainer of the senses being their resort but the senses sustain the body by way of providing spiritual and material welfare. The gross elements are the sustainers of the body and also sustain each other; the diverse sub-human, human and celestial bodies are mutually the sustainers and the sustained.Dhrti also means patience, remaining true to duty (dharmas - religious duties, moral rights and duties) even in calamities, and perfection in maintaining wisdom.[26]
Verse II.vi.145 ofSri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu states – the steadiness of heart arising from attaining realization of the Lord, from absence of suffering in attaining the realization of the Lord, and from realizingprema with the Lord is calleddhrti; in this state there is no lamentation for things not attained or for things that have disappeared.Ksama ('tolerance') is included indhrti-bhava. The three types ofrati ('relationship of love', 'attraction') arepriti ('affection'), sakhya ('friendship') andvatsalya,dhrti along withvitarka ('conjecture'), mati ('scriptural conclusion'),nirveda ('self-disgust'),smrti ('remembrance'),harsa ('joy'), and the type ofbodha arising from destruction of ignorance become somewhat causes ofrati.[27]
dhrti vedas.
Bhagavad Gita Slokas XVIII.30-33
