The word piety comes from the Latin word pietas, the noun form of the adjective pius (which means "devout" or "good"). Pietas in traditional Latin usage expressed a complex, highly valued Roman virtue; a man with pietas respected his responsibilities to other people, gods and entities (such as the state), and understood his place in society with respect to others. The Latin term in turn may derive from "Piodasses", an ancient Greek transliteration of the Indic Prakrit term "Piyadasi", meaning "beloved of the Gods". [1]