The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c11.40

c11.40

Vedic ritualism exalts the gods who "drove about on wheels" while their rivals, the asuras, stayed at home in their lordly halls and lost out. With Zarathustrianism, however, it is the supreme asura who holds ultimate truth against the demoniacally destructive devas. Their cyclic conflict is not eliminated but elevated to the height of a battle betwen Good and Evil. Zarathustra's ethical dualism aimed at reforming the world; Vedic ritualism, in contrast, taking its cue from the ancient heroes, turned away from the world and in the last resort aimed at its dissolution. Both, however, irreversibly broke open the old world of violence and sacrifice.