The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c11.4

c11.4

The Veda, on the other hand, though ostensibly addressing itself to man and his mundane interests, kept out of such involvement with the world and its powers. True, its ritual does contain prestigious ceremonies that are explicitly meant for the consecration of kings and emperors, but when performing such ceremonies, the royal celebrant is just a sacrificer (*yajamāna*) like any commoner.³ Conversely, the legal authors do not even prescribe these ceremonies for sanctioning the ruler's power. Although they were often used to enhance the standing of the ruler by documenting his access to the Veda as a proper *kṣatriya*, the Vedic ceremonies by themselves did not turn a mere ruler into a king or emperor.