The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c12.27

c12.27

As we have seen, the dilemma is that the king has to be both part of the community and external to it. Now Indian civilization offers a basic paradigm, used in many contexts, for such an opposition, namely, the opposition between the settled agricultural community (*grāma*) and the alien outside sphere of the jungle (*araṇya*). This opposition obviously has a directly practical and historical importance.⁵⁹ It does not only imply that the settled community should all the time be on its guard against the dangers that threaten it from the alien jungle world, but also that the two spheres complement each other in a number of ways. The settled community needs the jungle for grazing ground; as a source of new land, man power, and forest products; as a link between settled areas; and finally as a refuge. The jungle and its "tribal" inhabitants, on the other hand, look to the settled areas as a source of agricultural produce, cattle, and other riches as well as for employment, either in a military capacity or as agricultural labor. In other words, *grāma* and *araṇya* are complementary. Their constant latent or open conflict does not militate against their complementarity, but on the contrary, bears out its importance.