The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c10.33

c10.33

However, on further consideration, the element of violent conflict cannot be totally eliminated. How else is it possible to find a statement, albeit an isolated one, that equates the innocuous agnihotra with a weapon, a *vajra*, which the sacrificer hurls at his enemy?⁴⁰ At first sight, it is hard to see what exactly this means. It can be clarified, though, if we connect it with an even more curious passage, which comes under the heading of the possible errors and mishaps in the execution of the ritual. Among these errors, we find the somewhat surprising case that a chariot or cart passes between the sacrificer's fireplaces in the ritual enclosure.⁴¹ Such an event would obviously constitute a most serious disturbance of the ritual. One wonders, however, how such a traffic accident could occur. It should be easy to avoid driving through the ritual enclosure, unless, of course—and that is the point—one expressly does so with evil intent. The case is analogous to the fate that befell Sthūra and his followers when they were set upon and defeated on their place of sacrifice. Similarly, we are often told of the asuras' invading the gods' place of sacrifice. In other words, the traffic accident is no accident at all, but a reflection of the ancient sacrificial battle, which has been transformed into a ritual error.