The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c12.s1.1

c12.s1.1

But the pattern does not only involve cycles encompassed by other cycles such as those we have just observed. It also repeats itself in an unending sequence, and this means that the enthronization should again be followed by another abhiṣeka, another departure, and so forth. This indeed appears to have been the case. Thus Baudhāyana’s version of the vājapeya offers, as we saw, the sequence unction, chariot race, enthronization, but Āpastamba's version starts with the race, which, as expected, is followed by the enthronization and finally the unction, which is administered on the throne.⁷³ Baudhāyana and Āpastamba have, one might say, cut the cyclical concatenation in different places, but it is still the same cycle. This is not all. Although the vājapeya—like all śrauta sacrifices—is given as a single limited stretch of rites bounded by the standard beginning and end of the normal Soma sacrifice, the texts cannot completely disregard its cyclical follow-up. Therefore the vājapeya must again be followed by another consecratory Soma sacrifice, the *bṛhaspatisava*.⁷⁴ Now it is not made clear what exactly the ritual of the bṛhaspatisava is, but it is at least remarkable that the vājapeya itself is called a bṛhaspatisava.⁷⁵ No less interesting is what appears to be the occupation of the sacrificer during the interval between vājapeya and bṛhaspatisava: he leads the life of a warrior, for, as one text puts it, having performed the bṛhaspatisava, he should abandon the "warrior's way of life".⁷⁶ This is corroborated by another text, which enjoins that the vājapeya sacrificer should lead a warrior's life, and the same text says about the purpose of the bṛhaspatisava: "Whom they put at their head should henceforth lead a friendly life amongst them," that is, give up his warrior habits.⁷⁷ We have come to expect that the warrior phase of going abroad is followed by an enthronization after the triumphant return. Indeed, though the ritual specifics of the bṛhaspatisava that follows the vājapeya and the warrior phase are not clarified, there is at least one text that gives an elaborate description in which throne and enthronization figure prominently.⁷⁸