---
type: Reference
title: "Ṛgveda"
description: "The oldest Veda; the locus of ṛta, the cosmic-moral order guarded by Varuṇa, and of the ṛta-tapas cosmogony (10.190)."
darshana:
  - Vedic (pre-darśana)
tags:
  - primary-source
  - veda
  - shruti
timestamp: "2026-06-25"
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Ṛgveda

## What It Is

The oldest of the four Vedas, a collection of hymns (sūktas) to the devas. It is the earliest and richest source for ṛta, the cosmic order by which the sun keeps its path, the waters flow, and the year turns, an order that is at once physical and moral and that even the gods serve. Varuṇa is its guardian; anṛta (against ṛta) is the Vedic word for falsehood and transgression. The late hymn 10.190 has the ordered world (ṛta and satya) born from tapas, linking cosmic order, truth, and disciplined heat at the root of the tradition.

## Why It Matters Here

The primary source for ṛta, the concept that grounds the whole bundle's framing: dharmic ethics is alignment with a real cosmic-moral order, not obedience to a command. The ṛta-satya pairing also anchors satya, and the ṛta-tapas link in 10.190 connects the cosmic order to the disciplines that align one with it.
