Padmanabhan, T.2012-03-292012-03-292011-05-30http://hdl.handle.net/11007/1659There is consider able evidence to suggest that field equations of gravity have the same conceptual status as the equations of hydrodynamics or elasticity. We add further sup-port to this paradigm by showing that Einsteins field equations are identical in form to Navier –Stokes equations of hydrodynamics , when projected on to any null surface. In fact, these equations can be obtained directly by extremizing of entropy associated with the deformations of null surfaces thereby providing a completely thermodynamic route to gravitational field equations . Several curious features of this remarkable connection (including a phenomenon of dissipation without dissipation) are described and the implications for the emergent paradigm of gravity is highlighted.enHorizon entropyMembrane paradigmLovelock gravityBlack holeNavier StokesArticle