Dhara

In Hinduism, Dharā (Sanskrit: धरा; Support) is one of the Vasus, gods of the physical cosmos. He represents the earth and the element earth, though Earth is usually the goddess Prithvi rather than a god. Dhārā (Sanskrit: धारा) is a Sanskrit term used to refer to the flow of a stream or waterfall.

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Dhāraṇī

A dhāraṇī is a Sanskrit term for a type of ritual speech similar to a mantra.

Etymology and purpose

The word dhāraṇī derives from a Sanskrit root √dhṛ meaning "to hold or maintain".

Ryuichi Abe and Jan Nattier suggest that a dhāraṇī is generally understood as a mnemonic which encapsulates the meaning of a section or chapter of a sutra. Dhāraṇīs are also considered to protect the one who chants them from malign influences and calamities.

Dhāraṇīs and mantras

Kūkai

The Japanese Buddhist monk Kūkai drew a distinction between dhāraṇī and mantra and used it as the basis of his theory of language. Kūkai claims that mantra is restricted to esoteric Buddhist practice whereas dhāraṇī is found in both esoteric and exoteric ritual.

Kūkai classified mantras as a special class of dhāraṇīs and argued that every syllable of a dhāraṇī was a manifestation of the true nature of reality – in Buddhist terms, that all sound is a manifestation of śūnyatā or emptiness of self-nature. Thus, rather than being devoid of meaning, Kūkai suggests that dhāraṇīs are in fact saturated with meaning – every syllable is symbolic on multiple levels.

Dhara (film)

Dhara is a 2008 Bollywood drama film by Masud Mirza starring Sudhanshu Pandey and Hrishitaa Bhatt.

Plot

Dr. Sagar (Sudhanshu Pandey) is a London-based psychiatrist who works in a hospital. He is strongly opposed to shock therapy as a treatment for mentally ill patients, which is a source of conflict with his colleagues. One day he accidentally saves a girl who is being attacked by a group of men, and takes her home. The girl, Dhara (Hrishitaa Bhatt), is behaving extremely childishly, and Sagar quickly finds out she is mentally disturbed, but not retarded. He decides to keep her out of the hospital, and to take care of her at his own home. As a result of Dr. Sagar's careful treatment and a lot of domestic warmth, Dhara's condition gradually improves. Simultaneously, they slowly fall in love with each other, and Sagar even plans marrying her.

When Sagar has to leave for India for a while, his friend Sahil (Anuj Punj) comes to visit him, and decided to stay in his home until he returns. There he stumbles upon Dhara, almost healthy now, and the two fall in love quickly. When Sagar returns from India, he catches them in the act. Sagar, completely broken by this incident, loses his mind himself. Now it is Dhara's turn to take care of Sagar. However, once she succeeds, she loses it herself again.