A Concise History of Science in India c14.s2.3

c14.s2.3

Of the principal Vedic thoughts which are of relevance to us, mention should be made of the natural law (*ṛta*) which finds adequate expression in the *Ṛgveda*. The Vedic seers conceived of this law as the real governing force of the universe and even the Vedic gods are considered to be either under the operation of this law or its guardians. The natural phenomena like the flow of rivers, occurrence of night and dawn, are explained in terms of this natural law. It is now known that there was among the Babyloniansa a conception of natural law with reference to divinity. Among the Greek thinkers, Heraclitus (*c.* sixth century B.C.), Democritus (*c.* fifth century B.C.), Plato (427–347 B.C.) and Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) are known to have given expression to the idea of natural law. A fact of great significance is that the importance given to and the role of *ṛta* in the movements governing the human world and the cosmic universe alike, as depicted in the *Ṛgveda* and the later Vedic literature, point out that the Vedic people had an instinctive conviction in the natural order—a conviction which is of prime importance for sustenance of scientific attitude (**9**, pp. 453–55).