In the Vedic religion, Ṛta (/ɹ̩t̪ɐ/; Sanskrit "order, rhythm, rule; truth; logos") is the principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it. In the hymns of the Vedas, Ṛta is described as that which is ultimately responsible for the proper functioning of the natural, moral and sacrificial orders. Conceptually, it is closely allied to the injunctions and ordinances thought to uphold it, collectively referred to as Dharma, and the action of the individual in relation to those ordinances, referred to as Karma – two terms which eventually eclipsed Ṛta in importance as signifying natural, religious and moral order in later Hinduism.; Sanskrit scholar Maurice Bloomfield referred to Ṛta as "one of the most important religious conceptions of the Rigveda", going on to note that, "from the point of view of the history of religious ideas we may, in fact we must, begin the history of Hindu religion at least with the history of this conception".
Etymology Vedic and its Avestan equivalent both derive from Proto-Indo-Iranian "truth", which in turn continues Proto-Indo-European "properly joined, right, true", from a presumed root , making it a distant cognate of Latin and thus English order. The derivative noun ṛta is defined as "fixed or settled order, rule, divine law or truth".
As Mahony (1998) notes the term can be translated as "that which has moved in a fitting manner". Although this meaning is not actually cited by authoritative Sanskrit dictionaries it is a regular derivation from the verbal root ṛ, "to move" with ta, the suffix which forms the past participle, so it can be regarded as the putative origin of the word. More abstractly, it is translated as "universal law" or "cosmic order", or simply as "truth". The latter meaning dominates in the Avestan cognate to Ṛta, aṣ̌a.. Cf. also
The proper Sanskrit pronunciation of the word is ṛta, the ṛ being a vocalic r, like that in pert or dirt, when pronounced with a rhotic r, e.g. as in American, followed by a short a. The most common pronunciation of speakers of modern Indian languages is "rita", with short i and short a (sometimes "a" also being dropped due to the syncope, as a phenomenon described as schwa deletion in Indo-Aryan languages), due to the loss of the vocalic r by the successor languages to Sanskrit, the Prakrits and modern Indo-Aryan languages.
The term appears in Vedic texts and in post-Vedic texts, both as Ṛta and derivatives of the term. For example, in the 2nd-century BCE text Mahābhāṣya of Patanjali, he explains Ṛtaka to be the grammatically correct form of name for a son, where then the name would mean "truthling".
Origins
In scholarship there is no common position about the origin of the concept of Ṛta. Similar concepts exist in many Indo-European cultures and the names can in addition be derived from an identical root word . This is why some scholars take the position that the concepts in the Indo-European daughter cultures have a common ancestor in the Proto-Indo-European culture.
In contrast Hermann Oldenberg (1894) surmised that the concept of Ṛta originally arose in the Indo-Aryan period from a consideration of the natural order of the world and of the occurrences taking place within it as doing so with a kind of causal necessity. Both Vedic Ṛta and Avestan aša were conceived of as having a tripartite function which manifested itself in the physical, ethical and ritual domains.. See for a detailed discussion of the threefold function of Ṛta. In the context of Vedic religion, those features of nature which either remain constant or which occur on a regular basis were seen to be a manifestation of the power of Ṛta in the physical cosmos. In the human sphere, Ṛta was understood to manifest itself as the imperative force behind both the moral order of society as well as the correct performance of Vedic rituals. The notion of a universal principle of natural order is by no means unique to the Vedas, and Ṛta has been compared to similar ideas in other cultures, such as Ma'at in Ancient Egyptian religion, Moira and the Logos in Greek paganism, and the Dao.Cf. ; ; ;
Vedas Due to the nature of Vedic Sanskrit, a term such as Ṛta can be used to indicate numerous things, either directly or indirectly, and both Indian and European scholars have experienced difficulty in arriving at fitting interpretations for Ṛta in all of its various usages in the Vedas, though the underlying sense of "ordered action" remains universally evident.Cf. In the Rigveda, the term Ṛta appears as many as 390 times, and has been characterized as "the one concept which pervades the whole of Ṛgvedic thought". The cosmic order, Ṛta, has three features: Gati, the continuous movement or change. Samghatna, a system based on interdependent parts. Niyati, an inherent order of interdependence and movement.
Ṛta appears most frequently as representing abstract concepts such as "law", "commandment", "order", "sacrifice", "truth", and "regularity", but also occasionally as physical phenomena such as the waters, the heavens, or the sun as manifestations of the operation of Ṛta. Ṛta is also frequently used in reference to various Vedic deities. Thus, Bṛhaspati is referred to as possessing a powerful bow with "Ṛta as its string" and as one prepared to "mount the chariot of Ṛta"; Agni is described as one who is "desirous of Ṛta", one who is "Ṛta-minded" and as he who "spread Heaven and Earth by Ṛta"; the Maruts are referred to as "rejoicing in the house of Ṛta" and as "knowers of Ṛta"; Ushas is described as having been "placed at the root of Ṛta"; Varuna is praised as "having the form of Ṛta" and, along with Mitra as Mitra-Varuna, as "destroying the foes by Ṛta" and as "professing Ṛta by Ṛta". Epithets such as "born of Ṛta" and "protector of Ṛta" are frequently applied to numerous divinities, as well as to the sacrificial fire and the sacrifice itself.
Despite the abundance of such references, the gods are never portrayed as having command over Ṛta. Instead, the gods serve it in the form of various roles such as its executors, agents, or protectors.: "The Ṛta [...] was not created or willed by any being or beings, the gods or any other above them. It existed before them but became known by them. They were powerless to alter it; they were only agents to execute it or supervise its execution." As Day (1982) notes, the gods "do not govern Ṛta so much as immanentalize it through the particularities of divine ordinances and retributions concerning both rewards and punishments. In this sense, they do not "govern" Ṛta; they serve it as agents and ministers". The relationship between the gods and Ṛta, as described in the Vedas, is one of mutual dependency. However, most gods are described in various parts of the Rigveda as personifying or embodying Ṛta.
Riteesh
While the concept of Ṛta as an abstract, universal principle generally remained resistant to the anthropomorphic tendencies of the Vedic period, it became increasingly associated with the actions of individual deities, in particular with those of the god Varuna as the omniscient, all-encompassing sky.See for a discussion of the historical development of the relationship of Varuna to Ṛta. Ramakrishna considers it possible that Varuna was originally conceived as the personalized aspect of the otherwise impersonal Ṛta, and that, as the importance of Ṛta began to wane in the late Vedic and post-Vedic periods, Varuna was demoted to the position of a god of the waters. Cf. Although the Adityas as a group are associated with Ṛta, being referred to as "the charioteers of Ṛta, dwelling in the home of Ṛta", it is Varuna in particular who is identified as the "friend of Ṛta".RV 7.52.9; RV 8.25.2; RV 7.40.4. Quoted in . For a discussion of the Adityas and their relationship to Ṛta, cf. . The connection of Varuna and Ṛta extended beyond the physical realm and into the sphere of ritual worship, with the sacrificial fire itself being lauded as that which "harnesses the steeds and holds the reins of Ṛta, becoming Varuna when he strives for Ṛta".Quoted in As James (1969) notes, Varuna attained the position of "universal Power par excellence maintaining Ṛta" and is celebrated as having "separated and established heaven and earth, spreading them out as the upper and lower firmaments, himself enthroned above them as the universal king, ordering the immutable moral law, exercising his rule by the sovereignty of Ṛta.
Aside from Varuna, Indra, the supreme God of Heaven, is also associated with being the embodiment of Ṛta, particularly Sat (Truth). Throughout the Vedic corpus, many of Indra's feats and battles—such as the slaying of Vritra—are often metaphorically described as a battle between order and chaos, with Indra establishing Ṛta through his actions alone.
Dharma
Already in the earliest Vedic texts, Ṛta as an ethical principle is linked with the notion of cosmic retribution. A central concept of the Ṛgveda is that created beings fulfil their true natures when they follow the path set for them by the ordinances of Ṛta, and failing to follow those ordinances was thought to be responsible for the appearance of various forms of calamity and suffering.. Also : "For example, if a man got dropsy, he knew that he had violated the Ṛta, and that the god Varuna, whose duty it was to supervise enforcement of Ṛta, had sent the disease as a punishment." Committing one's actions to the governance of Ṛta, referred to as its "Dharma", was therefore understood as imperative in ensuring one's own well-being.Cf. : "Since to do what is right safeguards the good of all qua Ṛta, it is assumed that it is more or less obligatory to do or perform the right acts." In this vein, the individual who follows the ordinances of nature can be described as one who acts according to the "Dharma of Ṛta". Dharma, then, was originally conceived of as a "finite or particularized manifestation of Ṛta inasmuch as it represents that aspect of the universal Order which specifically concerns the mundane natural, religious, social and moral spheres as expressed in ritualistic regulations, public laws, moral principles and laws of nature".
Though originally understood as a subordinate component of the essentially metaphysical concept of Ṛta, Dharma eventually grew to overshadow Ṛta in prominence in later Vedic and early Hindu literature. According to Day (1982), the concept of Dharma, ...became so useful for framing religious, moral and social regulations, that interest in it and discussion of its applications to social and moral order eclipsed all discussions of metaphysical and theological ideas. Since, moreover, Dharma was made the central subject of a literary tradition which was to become vast and extensive throughout India, while the conception of Ṛta remained largely confined to the Vedas and their commentaries, it naturally took possession of brāhmaṇical thinking even at the expense of older, exalted concepts and conceptions.
Karma As the notion of Dharma shifted emphasis away from the gods as executors of Ṛta and towards the individual as upholding Ṛta through their actions, the ethical responsibility and culpability of the individual received an increasing amount of emphasis towards the end of the Vedic period.Cf. ; . Also . Central to the discussion of such culpability is the notion of Karma. Karma () refers to the works one performs, which can occur either in congruence with or in opposition to Dharma – and thus, to Ṛta – and which are posited to stand in a causal relationship to the pains and pleasures one experiences in life.