THE MEANING OF ṚTA

Author(s): J. C. Tavadia
Source: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute , 1954, Vol. 35, No. 1/4
(1954), pp. 27-34
Published by: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41784916

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 THE MEANING OF RTA

BY

J. C. Tavadia

As said in my article "Varuna and the Waters" (I

Iranica

of rta in the Introduction to his great

conception plays an important role n
and especially in the Avesta and even
Moreover, it forms another and more
close point of resemblance, a common
cerning Varuna in India and ( Ahur
the present we shall consider only t
God stands in such intimate relation to rta as Varuna-considered
either alone by himself or in group with the other ãditya- s, where
too he is the dominant figure, others being the shades of shadows
so to say. This remarkable relation to rta is the greatest point of
contrast between the ãditya- s and the other gods-greater than even
their principal title or designation asura , which is sometimes
shared by Indra and others who belong to the rival or deva group.
( It will be worth while to investigate whether this sharing occurs
in late hymns only ). Times without number they are called the
protectors, nourishers, furtherers, lords, and the like of rta . Owing
to rta, ône similarly reads, is their power so great, owing to rta
they govern the world. All this points to the importance of the
concept ; but this importance can fully and justly be appreciated
only by the meaning one attaches to it. 1 Roth, the pioneer of
Vedic studies, defined the sense as " order order in nature,
order in ritual, order in human life meaning moral law ; in short,
order everywhere. This interpretation found general acceptance,
and is still in vogue among the French Indianists in particular.

Now Lüders too would allow it but for its non-Indian colour-
ing or way of thinking. The Indian would not think in that way,
he says. The question then is, how does he think Î The reply

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28 Annals of lhe Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

can be gathered from the way in which the term rta is substituted,
one may almost say translated, in later Indian writings. It is
rather strange that herein rta is dropped altogether, whereas its
negative form anrta is retained. The opposite of anrta is no longer
rta but satya " true, truth ". This fact alone, argues Lüders, lets
one presume that the older term also meant " true, truth But
one may also argue contrariwise, that the change in term pre-
supposes change in meaning ; that satya " true, truth " is a more
recent interpretation and involves therefore an innovation, and
consequently the older term rta may have some other sense.
Anyhow, Lüders quotes Naighantuka ( 3.10 ), the oldest Vedic
dictionary, which actually explains rta by satya , in his support
and adds that this meaning can be upheld whenever the term is
used in opposition to druh " deceit " and yãtu " sorcery ", that is
" deceitful action of a sorcerer ", or in conjunction with satya
° true, truth y'

There are, however, cases where this meaning does not appear
normal or reasonable. Such is the case when one reads verses
like 1.105. 12 : rta lets the rivers flow, satya expands the sum ; or
4.42.4 J through rta the son of aditi , the possessor of rta , has spread
out the threefold world ; or 5.63. 7 •' through rta the whole world
you-two govern. In all these places one naturally expects some
other sense of the term-not u truth But Lüders explains and
justifies the use of " truth " also here by referring to the later
Indian belief according to which truth appears as a wonderful
power subduing the spirits as well as the material world. This
belief or custom is something between oath or vow and magic or
sorcery. It was believed that by speaking out some truth one
could bring about what one wished. The custom is (felled satya -
kriya and is common in epic tales and more so in Buddhist
stories.
I however doubt whether this usage can have real bearing on
the Vedic verses quoted above. In all the principal stories given
at length by Lüders the truth uttered is not some truth as such
but something quite personal and-above all moral, concerning
the fulfilment of one's duty or righteous conduct according to law.
It is never a natural truth or a fact observed in nature, nor an

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 The Meaning of Rta 29

historical one. It is not even a personal truth about

action or sin which the doer admits, repents, and ask
It is always about one's good action, one's fulfilment
the case of the hetaira story there is even talk of the duties in
gênerai of her profession. This means that the speaker announces
his or her right conduct, on the strength of which he or she claims
and expects that some wish may and must be granted-danger
avoided and happiness afforded - by divine powers.
Lüders does not lay special weight and emphasis on this aspect
of the satya-kriyã, because he finds cases where not personal
truths but some general truths, sometimes even trivialities, are
uttered to effect the desired object. But can these cases be not
later developments on the wrong track, due to misunderstanding
or purposed misinterpretation ? The satya-kriyã is admittedly
deteriorated into even a veritable magic, where the contents of
the recital are absolutely immaterial and the mere recitation is
the thing. These cases as well as the belief in the meritoriousness
of the recital and even mere hearing ( éravayiaphala ) of religious
stories should, I think, be kept distinct from the other cases where
the satya-kriyã is confined to the proclamation of one's good
conduct - good in the sense of proper, legal - and not simply some
truth. I am not quite sure about the justice of Lüder's assertion
that a relation of a story works as magic, because according to
the conviction of the concerned it describes a true event ( p. 19 ).
If stories form part of sacrificial rituals and are also found
mixed with ritual songs of the ßgveda, the reason and purpose
are to my mind quite different. Today also religious stories or
legends - kathã - play a prominent part in worship. But they are
not supposed to work as magic. They serve the purpose of edi-
fication. On the one hand they magnify the gods concerned, and
on the other they demonstrate to the hearer how virtue has its
reward. A.nd what Lüders calls magical formulas looks like
prayers pure and simple which can well be uttered after the rela
tion of the corresponding legend or story about some ideal sacri-
fioer of the past.

For all these reasons I repeat that the belief or custom of

satya-kriyã is a different matter-if not altogether and entirely,

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30 Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

then at least essentially. To judge from the principal illustra-

tions thereof one may even go a step further and say that the very
word satya should be understood in a different manner -not as
14 true, truth " but as 44 right, or just, justice For also strictly
or grammatically speaking satya does not mean 4i something as it
is - 44 true ( for which sat would be an exact expression ), but
14 something as it ought to be " - 44 proper, right or 44 good " in
the worldly sense, 44 righteous, holy 99 in the religious one. Thus
both the custom of satya-kriya and the word satya , which translates
or substitutes rta% suggest that this conception was perhaps really
understood to mean 44 divine law or justice, right or order ".

On the other hand the use of rta for a whole hymn and its
recital, which brings about the desired object, points to its magical
sense. But it is again a question whether that notion cannot be
accounted for otherwise. For Lüders the magical power of a
hymn depends upon the truthful contents therein, as he repeatedly
asserts ( p. 21 f. ) But one may better be inclined to see that
power in some sort of holy, righteous or divine character of the
piece. I am conscious of the danger of using specific Christian
terms ; I have however guarded myself by adding 44 some sort of 99
before them. Anyhow, one can regard a hymn holy or magical,
divine or devilish according to one's partiality, but to call it also
truthful does not seem to be suitable in the context. Similarly,
if not in the expression rtavrdh and rtajãta used for gods, at least
when rta occurs as the principle underlying the world, as a cosmo-
logical factor so to say, then it is a question whether 44 truth is
the only and most suitable term for translating the idea.

In short, there will always be general agreement as to the

various applications and uses of rta; but because of this very
variety there will always be some difficulty and therefore diffe-
rence of opinion in the choice of a single term to connote it fully ,-
as far as we moderns are concerned. But as to the later Indians
themselves there is now little doubt after Lüder's showing ( p. 24. )
that they understand by rta 44 Truth " and nothing but 44 truth 99 .
( See however below at the end ). Even for us too there are two
important considerations which speak in favour of this sense.
One is the Greek rendering by Plutarch of the exact Iranian

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 The Meaning of Ría 31

equivalent of the Indian rta-alêOeia , and the other

truth in such common religious maxims as God is Tru
No Higher Religion than Truth (favourite with the Th
Moreover, out of the several Muslim names for God al
is preferred by the Sufis. But even this term is used in
Iranian asa (rta) in a different sense - u blessed and
show elsewhere " Ormazd and Ahriman ", JBBRAS.
added that a man like Tiele ( Geschichte der Religion i
2 . 143. ) says that we attach a different sense to " tru
be for this reason that Lommel prefers "Wahrsein" to
in his translation of the Zoroastrian Gathas ; but anot
of the same school who ie convinced of Luders' thesis declares
that " Wahrsein " is nothing, means nothing ! Anyhow in English
there is no such device 5 and so if " truth " is not sufficient " right
or justice " must be adopted. If one does not find it hard or
strange to come across a verse like " to think speak and act
according to truth " well and good ; but the substitution of right
or justice is certainly more clear. It is not fair to take these terms
in their narrow, legal sense and criticise them as unsuitable as
Hertel somewhere does.

Hertel's own translation 44 Licht-des-Heils " takes us in quite

different sphere ; but I think it is not wholly wrong; there is some
germ of tiuth therein inasmuch as it is quite applicable in
naturalistic texts though not so in ethical ones. But Lüders '
ultimate object is to show just this ethical character and stand-
point of the Vedic Hymns and, combining it with the similar
phenomenon in Iranian texts, to conclude further that the Aryans
had already developed an ethical system. This advance brought
in its turn a change in the meaning of the fundamental concept
like rta; and this change we are not to ignore On the other hand,
this change may not have bjen universal; older notions may well
have persisted in spite of the ethical advance, - especially because
we are concerned with a composite book, - and therefore the older
meaning may be found beside the new one. From the custom of
the satya-kriyã , which inculcates the belief in the efficacy or heal-
ing power of rta in one form or another, a part of that older
meaning ( Licht - des - Heils ) iß certainly ascertained. The other

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32 Annals oj the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

part, that of the light, becomes clear from what follows on the
seat of abode of rta, ( p. 24fF. ) This is always said to be some"
where in the distance far beyond the sun. Thus in : 4. 21. 3 : here
may come Indra from heaven or from earth

for our help along with the Maruts, or fr

from the abode of rta . That it is celestial l
the verses like : 1. 164. 47, 4. 51. 8, and 10
the dawn twilight are said to come from (
( or lap ) of rta . But even in these cases Lü
taking rta in the sense of " truth not 4
however strange it may appear to us it is
Indians, who in their later Vedic writin
heaven or world as satya-lolca , which is n
rta in other words. But is it not possible that the satya-loka
means 44 real or ideal world " as opposed to the visible one which
the later Indian considers as maya or illusion or in that case the
identification becomes doubtful or gets a novel interpretation.
Anyway, Lüders has to admit that this truth or satya-loka is an
immense mass of brilliant light, physically. Similarly if rtasya
yoni is not the sacrificial place but the celestial water or ocean
wherein agni , the fire, lay concealed till the gods found him, one
is again reminded of Herteťs definition, 44 the all-embracing cele-
stial light of the term in question. Lüders may well say that
light and truth are identical for the Indian just as darkness and
lie also ; but that does not affect the matter, ( cf. also the note at
the end. )
It will not be considered out of place if I were to add a few
words on the modern Indian's notion about satya or sat when used
in religious sense. Somewhere Lüders refers to Mahatma Gandhi's
designation for his life-long struggle, - satyãgraha . He emphasises
the use of satya 44 truth " therein. Now I know Gandhi's predilec-
tion for this term in other respects also. 44 God is Truth " was
one of his favourite maxims, and he even called his autobiography
"Experiments with Truth ' quite characteristically. Yet we
know that his struggle was more for Right and Justice than Truth
as such. In other words, he used the term in the broadest sense
possible. It is also a question whether he did not start from and
was not influenced by the English usage of Truth rather than tha

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 The Meaning of Rta 33

Indian one of sat and satya . For inspite of his being a Hin
his emphasis on Hinduism English education and therefore
Western culturé is not a minor factor even in the case of a Gandhi.
But the suggestion for satyagraha or sadagraha in the place of
" passive resistance " came from a co-worker of his.
Anyhow, if one wants to know that the Indian means more by
sat and satya than meets the eye the following will serve the
purpose. It is a matter of common knowledge that the concept of
rta is largely replaced by that of dharma . And here is the defini*
fcion of dharma by a modern writer. " Dharma for the Indian is
cosmic and universal. It is the inner essence, the law of every
object in nature, animate or inanimate, which urges it to seek its
fulness and harmony in the life of the organic whole " ( Mahatma
Gandhi by P. A. Wadia, p. 21 ), The author, who is not a specialist
in Indolopy, although a deep student of general philosophy and
religion - besides being a well known economist, may have got
this definition from someone else; yet it must be considered as
fairly prevalent. It vividly reminds one of what is often said
of rta.
Similar views are expressed for satya also. I shall again refer
to an out of the way source, the Hindi novelist Premchand, to
show the generality of the matter. He begins his Foreword
( prãkkathana ) to Gramya-Jivan kt kahãniyam with the following
remarkable statement : " A critic writes that in spite of everything
being real in history it is asatya , and in spite of everything being
imaginary in story - in narrative literature it is satya. What else
can be the meaning of this dictum but this, that from beginning
to end history is an exhibition of murder, war and deceit which
is a-sundar not - handsome ( not good, bad ) therefore it is a-satya ?

giani ), not joy. And whatever cann

handsome ( = good ) and whatever ca
be satya either. Where there is joy ther
will be a mistake to use " true " and " tr
two cases as well as in the last; for that
in the middle. The context shows that b
" a thing devoutly to be wished for ", -
or the like.
5 I Annals, B, O, R. I. ]

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34 Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

What is far more instructive and significant is the use of sat

in such religious phrases as " sat of such and such god or goddess
or godlingj- some minor village deity - is great What does the
Indian think thereby ? Does he think of " truth " in one sense or
another ? I must say certainly not. What he means is that
" the divine power of his deity is great " so that his worship and
propitiation of him is sure to bear fruit. This, I believe, is also
the meaning of satya in satya-kriyã. A person because of his satya
or right conduct, as we gather from the principal stories, possesses
divine power with which he then demands and obtains the fulfil-
ment of a particular wish. The ethical moment or idea, which is
the chief concern of Lüders in his fight for the term " truth " is
also hereby preserved and emphasised. It is, I believe, a minor
i; sue whether one calls that ethical idea Truth or Bight or Justice.
Those who do not prefer the former may begin their objection
with the words of Bacon : What is truth ? said the jesting pil jt ;
and would not stay for an answer.

The following may be considered as an additional note on the

use of light or fire for things celestial •• -

The use of the same term for the things in heaven as well as
on earth, so common and characteristic among the Aryans, is met
with also elsewhere. The following extract from Walter Pater,
The Benaissarwe, p. 45, will not be without interest in the
matter s- In explaining the harmony between Plato and Moses,
Pico ( della Mirandola ) lays hold on every sort of figure and
analogy

pondences. Every object in the terrestrial w

a symbol or counterpart, of some higher re
heavens, and this again of some law of the
world beyond the stars. There is the elem
material world, the sun is the fire of heaven
celestial world there is the fire of the seraphi
behold how they differ ! The elementary fire
§re vivifies, the supercelestial fire loves ".

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