The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c12.29

c12.29

A first look at the royal ritual of *rājasūya* and *abhiṣeka* gives the impression of a rather garbled scenario. In the first place, it is overgrown with a confusing cumulation of all sorts of rites which make it difficult to discern the central moments. To some extent, it is possible to overcome this difficulty by paying attention to the "boxing device" of the ritual, which tends to embed an important episode in the middle of another rite or cumulation of rites, such as offerings of ghee, cake, animal, and soma. This is prominently the case of the unction, which stands out as a pivotal point in the ritual. But then there appear to be at least three possible "boxes," as is shown by the three moments in the ritual where the proclamation (or acclamation), which goes with the unction, occurs.⁶³ Another important episode is the enthronization. It would seem logical that unction and enthronization should be closely connected with each other.⁶⁴ This is indeed the case in the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa*, where the king receives the unction while seated on the throne. However, in the rājasūya, the unction is not only separated from the enthronization by a considerable interval but also precedes it.