Editing Ṛta (section)

==''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.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Day|1982|p=28}}. Also {{harvcoltxt|Brown|1992|p=373}}: "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."</ref> 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.<ref>Cf. {{harvcoltxt|Bilimoria|Prabhu|Sharma|2007|p=33}}: "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."</ref> In this vein, the individual who follows the ordinances of nature can be described as one who acts according to the "''Dharma'' of ''Ṛta''".<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Day|1982|p=45}}</ref> ''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".<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Day|1982|pp=42–43}}</ref>

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'', <blockquote>...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.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Day|1982|p=42}}</ref></blockquote>