The Classical Doctrine of Indian Medicine: Its Origins and its Greek Parallels c8.48

c8.48

It was natural that the universal order, the notion whereof had been suggested by the regularity of cosmic phenomena, had been placed under the charge of a universal god-king and it is probably as his substitute that the Moon-god, Coryphaeus of the celestial procession, had received royal authority on this part of the domain of ṛta and royal authority in general therefrom. But these kings, Varuṇa in any case, are not capricious despots, Varuṇa makes the Norm prevail, he does not change it, either because he lacks the power to do so or because he does not have the desire for the same. Ṛta therefore, definitely appears as a quasi-scientific concept of celestial regularity, a concept extended to all the terrestrial and spiritual objects, which has been transformed into that of the universal Norm and has been influenced by the social representation of the monarchical organisation.²