Indian Approach To Natural Law Philosophy
Indian Approach To Natural Law Philosophy
Indian Approach To Natural Law Philosophy
Archaeology
URL: www.arfjournals.com
https://doi.org/10.47509/JHAA.2023.
v03i01.05
Abstract: The basic tenets of advanced human living are found in the Vedas. Received : 19 February 2023
Ṛta is the principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the Revised : 26 March 2023
operation of the universe and everything within it. In the hymns of the Vedas, ṛta
Accepted : 18 April 2023
is described as that which is ultimately responsible for the proper functioning
of the natural, moral and sacrificial orders. Conceptually, it is closely allied Published : 30 June 2023
to the injunctions and ordinances thought to uphold it. The eternal law, while
upholding the cosmic order, also produces beauty, symmetry, and symphony. TO CITE THIS ARTICLE:
Ṛta is also treated as cognate with satya (truth) and dharma (righteousness),
which are laws that are common for both the divine and human. But there are Boddupalli, A., & Boddupalli, R.S.
subtle differences between them. The Vedas inculcate moral truth and dwell (2023). Vedic Wisdom of R.TA, The
Cosmic Law: Its Significance in
upon the importance of virtuous conduct. Ṛta, the divine law, is revealed in the
Human Life. Journal of History, Art
Ṛgveda (RV), Śukla Yajurveda (SYV), Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda (KYV), Atharvaveda and Archaeology, 3: 1, pp. 33-39.
(AV), Āraṇyaka and Upaniṣhads. The term ‘ṛta’ is comprehensively discussed https://doi.org/10.47509/JHAA.2023.
in the Vedas and detailed more number of times in the RV when compared to v03i01.05
other Vedas.
Keywords: Vedas, Ṛta, Dharma, Satya, Cosmic order, Natural law
Abbreviations: AV - Atharvaveda, KYV - Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda, MU - Mundaka
Upaniṣad, RV - Ṛgveda, SYV - Śukla Yajurveda, TU - Taittirīya Upaniṣad,
YV - Yajurveda
later scriptures its use dwindled. In its place, words comprehensive than the word ‘religion’ or ‘law’.
like satya (truth) and dharma (righteousness) There are more than eleven meanings provided
have been recurrently used, often carrying the for dharma (Apte:2007). According to Hopkins
same connotation as ṛta. In the Mahabharata, (1924:2):
Bhagavata and other sacred texts, ṛta means The English word ‘good’ meant originally fit and so
‘true’, and at times ‘truth personified’. proper, appropriate. Similarly, the Vedic word ṛta
Ṛta is the natural law or order that is the means fit, orderly, good and as a noun ṛtam is the right
governing principle of the universe and its events. order of the universe, of the sacrifice and of ethical
conduct, the true way as opposed to its negative
Even gods are not exempt from this law, which is anṛtam, that is false or untrue. It connotes a certain
described in detail in the Ṛgveda. The RV speaks harmony between ideal and practice. Cosmically, it
of the ‘path of ṛta’ - ‘ṛtasya pantāḥ 1 which we designates the harmony of the world and regularity of
must tread. It also distinguishes between the ideal nature.
or perfect world where ‘ṛta’ is firmly established Panikkar (2001:350-51) remarks that, “Ṛta is
and which we must aspire for, sadanaṃ ṛtasya the ultimate foundation of everything; it is ‘the
2
and the actual or imperfect world in which we supreme’, although this is not to be understood
live that is characterised by the absence of ‘ṛta’ in a static sense ... It is the expression of
- anṛtasya bhurēḥ 3. The movement from the the primordial dynamism that is inherent in
real to the ideal world is spoken of as the ‘path everything”. According to the Encyclopædia
of ṛta’, i.e., the path facilitating the realisation of Britannica (2020), ṛta is “the word from which
‘ṛta’. RV suggests that one of the most valuable the Western notion of ‘right’ is derived.”
components of this path is the praising of the gods Ṛta has also been used quite often to denote,
and goddesses that represent and illustrate ‘ṛta’. what is understood today, as dharma. In fact, later
The Yajurveda (YV), however, substituted rituals scriptures replaced ṛta with dharma. Here are some
and sacrifices for the praises, because actual examples: ‘paricinmartodraviṇaṁmamanyād-
performance was deemed more meritorious than ṛtasya pathānamasāvivāset - let a man think well
mere verbal formulations or mental constructions on wealth and strive to win it by the path of law
(Rao: 1991:3). and worship’4; ‘ṛtasya panthāṁnatarantiduṣkṛtaḥ
- the evil doers do not travel on the path of the
Discussion
eternal law’5; ‘ṛtavākenasatyenaśraddhayāta
pasāsutaindrāy endoparisrava - pressed
Ṛta as Dharma, Satya and Yajña
with words of law and truth, with faith and
Dharma derived from the root dhṛ, which means devotion, O Indu, flow towards Indra’6;
‘to support’, ‘to prop up’, is the individual and ‘ṛtaṁśaṁsantaṛjudīdhyānā - praising the eternal
collective conduct that is regarded by common law, thinking straight (the sons of Angirasa held
consensus as ideal and imperative. It provides the rank of sages)’7.
direction to our actions, framework for the values In the Mahabharata, ṛta is used to mean
we must adopt and nurture, and goals to be ‘truth’ in general and also ‘righteousness’. In the
achieved within the limits set by the society. The Manu Samhita the term is used to mean ‘the right
word dharma appears at least fifty-six times in the means of livelihood for a brāhmaṇa’, as opposed
hymns of the RV. There is a close link between to, for example, agriculture which is anṛta for
ṛta and dharma, though they are not precisely the him. Sayanacharya explains the term ṛtasya
same (Rao: 1991:3; Sastry: 1989: (i)). Although as, ‘avaśyaṁbhāvinaḥkarmaphalasya8’, which
ṛta is propagated as dharma in the Bhagavad means that ṛta is something that is the accumulated
Gita, dharma cannot be accurately translated effect of good and bad actions. These resulting
into English or any other language. It is more actions by ṛta is not like the inevitable cause and
Boddupalli, A. : Vedic Wisdom of R.TA, The Cosmic Law: Its Significance in Human Life 35
effect relationship of the material world, according yajña - sacrifice11.The distinct use of satya and
to which every cause would definitely produce an ṛta in the above mantra shows that Vedic sages
effect, but it is more like the successful harvest of gave different connotations to these two terms.
a crop in which the farmer obtains the full yield Therefore, satya and ṛta do not imply the same
instead of any other result. thing in all contexts. The same principle applies
The word satyam is a combination of two to the triad of ṛta, dharma and yajña - they do not
words - sat + tyat. The word ‘sat’ represents refer to the same concept, as can be verified from
the three elements with form - fire, water and the following examples: ‘śraddhayāsatyamāpyate
earth. The word ‘tyat’ stands for air and space, - one attains the truth through faith’12and this
which are formless. These two words taken attainment of truth through śraddhāis a unique
together form the word ‘satyam’, which stands concept never ascribed to ṛta; ‘ṛtaṁca satyaṁ
here for Brahman considered as limited by the cābhiddhāttapasodhajāyata - from the blazing
five elements and the whole universe made up tapas was born ṛtam, eternal order and truth’13.
of them. This is empirical reality. When one The value of ṛta is wider than the ethical
sees sat + tyat (satyam) as a combination of two value of truth. Of course in one verse, both satyaṁ
sounds, it generates a significant meaning as and ṛtam are said to be born of blazing, spiritual
described by Adi Sankaracharya in ‘Śataślōki’ fire (tapas). Writing on the wider connotation
(a book of hundred verses)9 (Sastri 2001). Here, of the term ṛta, Bose (1970:44) says, “Ṛta in
he described that the Almighty has two forms - its moral aspects, however, is wider than truth,
having ‘shape’ and ‘shapeless’ (no body, only air it includes justice and goodness and is almost
or space). According to traditional knowledge, synonymous with dharma as an ethical concept.
having a ‘shape’ (mūrtaṃ) is ‘sat’ and ‘without So ṛta is sternly (ugram) opposed to evil”. Thus,
shape’ (amūrtaṃ) is ‘tyat’. The entire essence ṛta here stands for the moral government of the
of the ‘shape’ is comparable to the solar disc universe which is very emphatically declared
(ādityamaṃḍala) and the ‘shapeless’ core is one in the Mundaka Upaniṣadic (MU) verse14,
that spreads across the entire universe. ‘satyamevajayatenānṛtam - ultimately, the truth
In the Vedas, ṛta has also been used to mean will prevail, never the falsehood’. Hence, ṛta as
satya (truth) and yajña (sacrifice). Many scholars an eternal order has socio-ethical implications.
believe that these terms originally referred to one Various deities are the upholders of the
and the same concept - a belief that continues till ṛta. According to the Vedas ṛta was guarded by
today. The Nighantu- a Vedic lexicon - defines Varuṇa - the god-sovereign - who was assisted
satya as having six synonyms, one of which by Mitra - the god of honour - and that the
is ṛta. According to this, ṛta is truth and anṛta proper performance of sacrifices to the gods was
is the opposite, as in the mantra ‘satyamidvā u necessary to guarantee its continuance. The gods
taṁvayamindraṁstavāmanānṛtam - let us extol are great, lovely and victorious because they too
Indra who is in truth, and not in untruth’10. This stick to the immutable cosmic order. Naturally,
has made many general readers translate ṛta as social order must be modeled after this order in
‘truth’, which is not always correct, as can be the universe. To gain worldly prosperity and also
seen in the following Vedic mantra - ‘satyaṁ spiritual well-being one has to hold on to the law,
bṛhad ṛtam ugraṁdīkṣātapo brahma yajñaḥ both divine and social, which are but aspects of
pṛthivīṁdhārayanti’. These are the virtues that ṛta. It has also been perceived as the supreme
nourish and sustain this world: satyaṁ bṛhat reality in the form of ṛta-sat - dweller in ṛta15. It
- the truth is great, ṛtam ugram - formidable is not only an eternal law, but it is also an eternal
order, dīkṣā - consecration or initiation, tapas - justice. Bose (1970:44), therefore, differentiates
austerity, brahma - prayer/spiritual exaltation and it from the idea of ‘fate’ in Greek culture.
36 Journal of History, Art and Archaeology
Living beings and the world of matter participate The dual gods, Mitra and Varuna, especially
in a beautiful orderly life through the power of the latter, stand in a special relation to ṛta. They
the eternal and sacred law, ṛta, working in and are the most important among the Adityas, the
through them. The Vedic morality and religious guardians of ṛta. There are, however, some gods
duties are basically rooted in the doctrine of ṛta. whose correspondence to natural phenomena is
It stands both for order in nature as well as moral obscure. Given the naturalistic origin of the gods,
order in the universe. ṛta as the order in the universe must also guide
The ṛṣis have emphasized the need to live the gods. Precisely this is what the RV speaks
up to the words and spirit of the scriptures for of gods in relation to ṛta. Gods are intimately
individual and social upliftment, both material connected with ṛta throughout the saṃhita.
and spiritual. And since everything in the universe The epithets like ṛtajāta (born of ṛta), ṛtajria
is regulated by this principle of ṛta, it is the duty (knowers of ṛta), ṛtavrdh (promoter of ṛta),
of the religious heads to keep an eye on the proper etc., are frequently given to gods. What is more
flow of the world order. Naturally, social order remarkable is that nowhere are the gods viewed
must be modelled after this order in the universe. as controllers of ṛta; They are the upholders
To gain worldly prosperity and also spiritual well- of ṛta. The ṛta on the other hand is viewed as
being one has to hold on to the law, both divine regulating order according to which even gods
and social, which are but aspects of ṛta. Whenever must conduct themselves.
something is done against this universal rhythm it
is considered anṛta, opposite to the natural law. Acknowledgements
This violation of ṛta destabilizes the inner order The authors wish to profusely thank Brahmasri Vedam
of things. Venkata Rama Sastry, Acharya in Vedas, Upanishads and
Philosophical Studies, Institute of Sanskrit and Vedic
The Vedas consider gods as luminous,
Studies (ISVS), Bangalore, for useful discussion on the
benevolent and right-minded divine entities. subject and critically going through the manuscript.
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