The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c14.s1.7

c14.s1.7

The brahmin, senānī, rājan (or rājanya), and the consorts form the first group in this and similar lists.¹¹ The distinctive feature of the second group is that they form pairs: *sūta*-*grāmaṇī*, *kṣattṛ*-*saṃgrahītṛ*, *akṣavāpa*-*govikarta*, and (with the Maitrāyaṇīyas) the *takṣa*-*rathakāra* pair.¹² As the ritual texts never tire of explaining, pairs mean pairing. That this is equally the case here appears also from a similar group we encounter elsewhere, namely, the twelve “kingdom-bearing” (*rāṣṭrabhṛt*) oblations on the completed fire altar. These twelve oblations are offered in six rounds of two each, one to a male, the other to a female deity. The series is rounded off by a thirteenth oblation on a chariot, whereby the sacrificer is made to encompass the six couples.¹³ The parellelism with the ratnins as regards name, numerical arrangement, and intention is obvious. Moreover, the rāṣṭrabhṛt oblations are also associated with an unction. I think we shall not be far amiss when we interpret the ratnin and rāṣṭrabhṛt pairs as a representation of two moieties connected by the king who, as the third, is “born” from and dependent on their connubium.