kartavya means A duty, obligation, task. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 99 out of 100.
Why “kartavya” is a great word
KARTAVYA — [Noun] A duty or obligation, especially one considered morally or socially binding. Borrowed from Sanskrit कर्तव्य (kartavya), from the root कृ (kṛ, "to do, to make") with the suffix -तव्य (-tavya, expressing obligation or necessity). Unlike *adhikāra* (a right or privilege one claims) or *kārya* (a neutral task or deed), kartavya is the weight of necessity applied to the soul. It is the soldier's silent vigil at the pass, the scholar's midnight oil burned for preservation, and the quiet return of a lost possession without expectation—a voluntary yoke that gives a life its contour, the silent architecture of a world built not from desire but from answer.
Etymology
Borrowed from Sanskrit कर्तव्य (kartavya).
noun
- A duty, obligation, task.“Tell me what my kartavya, duty, is and I shall follow it. You saved me from burning in the fire, so have the grace to tell me about it.”