The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c14.s2.10

c14.s2.10

The universal rule of dharma, whether Hindu or Buddhist, would withdraw from society, not only all authority, but all power as well, so as to vest them in each individual. This was the situation of mankind’s mythic golden age, the *kṛtayuga*. But as the *Mahābhārata* tells us, it was exactly this situation which gave rise to confusion and conflict, for men only had the unmediated dharma, vested in each single individual, to maintain order and to protect each other.⁵¹ Universal order succumbs to its inner contradiction. Depending entirely on the individual, it has no room for conflict, for there is no power and authority left for a mediating agency. Monolithic universality breaks down on its unacknowledged explosiveness.