The word Dharma is common to both Buddhist and Hindu religions. Buddhists generally use the word Dharma to refer to the collective teachings of the Buddha, and the Buddha used the word Dharma to roughly mean “how the universe works.”
The Hindu concept of Dharma might be thought of as being “one’s role in the universe.” The concept includes not only one’s performance of religious acts, but how they act in society and how they act toward their family responsibilities.
In Hindu society, one’s dharma may vary depending upon their caste, and in what stage of life they are in. An older man from a higher caste might have a different dharma than a young man from a lower caste.