The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c11.29

c11.29

The point is that Vedic ritualism, by outlawing conflict and violence, not only makes kingship questionable but also aims at dissolving the ties of exchange and interdependence that constitute the social arena. To that end, it set the yajamana apart and isolated him on his ritual emplacement. Therefore too, it not only isolated the brahmin, but also required the whole of society to observe absolute dividing lines, namely, those between the *vaṛṇas*. The fact that the numberless castes (*jāti*) are viewed as the outcome of inter-*varṇa* marriages breaching the dividing lines vitally impaired the caste order. Caste society—like any other society—cannot do without exchange and interdependence, but at the same time, it is required to honor the principle of *varṇa*-like separation. In short, the strictly ultramundane divisiveness and individualism of the *śruti* threatens the world's vital relationships with disintegration. Hence the tension and controversy surrounding the Veda. They are the more dynamic for being irresolvable.