A Sanskrit dictionary defines it as
(1) Religion
(2) Law, usage, practice, custom, ordinance, statute
(3) Religious or moral merit, virtue, righteousness, good works (regarded as one of the four ends of human existence)
(4) Duty, prescribed course of conduct
(5) Right, justice, equity, impartiality
(6) Piety, propriety, decorum
(7) Morality, ethics
(8) Nature, disposition, character
(12) Good company, associating with the virtuous
(13) Devotion, religious abstraction.
Spelling and Pronunciation of Dharm : Dharma is the popular spelling that we generally see in print. However, we have chosen Dharm because it offers a relatively closer pronunciation to the original Sanskrit word. Readers tend to pronounce a Sanskrit word as they see it written in English. Dharma prompts them to pronounce it incorrectly as धर्मा when it should be धर्म
Religion is the commonly understood meaning of Dharm today because we see all around us conflicting religions and their battle for superiority with regard to larger following. This trait is particularly characteristic of missionary religions. Religion, however, could not have been meaning in the context of BhagavadGita. Over 5000 years ago, on the land of BhaaratVarsh (ancient India), there were no warring religions. There was only one know religion, Sanaatan Dharm, the eternal religion, which was predominantly a prescribed way of life, not a religion as understood today. Sanaatan Dharm recognized each individual soul’s right to the journey towards the Supreme Soul without interference of specific path or dogma.