The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c17.19

c17.19

Of course, no society can rest on the single principle of separation alone. And so varṇa, like dharma, has to encompass its own opposite, namely, varṇasaṃkara, the confusion of the varṇas, resulting in the proliferation of the innumerable jātis. The seemingly monolithic caste order, then, is torn apart by two diametrically opposed principles, strict separation as required by the varṇa theory and conflictual interlinking in the actual jāti order. To handle this unresolved tension is the function of the king. As upholder and mediator of the dharma, the king is called upon to set the world of jāti right when confusion and conflict are rife. However, belonging himself to the jāti world, he lacks the authority to do so. Such authority has to be derived from the otherworldly sphere and can only be imparted by the brahmin (or the renouncer).³¹ For the brahmin is ideally above and beyond the jāti order. He is complete in himself and independent from the world. Only the brahmin can qualify for all six dharma activities—performing the ritual for himself as well as for others, learning and teaching, giving as well as receiving gifts. The two other "twice-born" varṇas, the kṣatriya and the vaiśya, are qualified for only one of each pair: sacrificing, learning, and giving, while the śūdra is only allowed to serve. That is, they are all dependent on others. Only the brahmin combines in himself both ends of each of the three pairs of activity and so he is, ideally, fully independent from others, transcending thereby the mundane order of conflict and interdependence. By the same token, however, he is—like the renouncer—cut off from the king's world. Indeed, if he is to preserve his transcendent authority, the brahmin must shun the king and all his works, even his gifts and benefices.³² Yet he cannot live on his purity and transcendence. For his sustenance he is obviously, though contradictorily, dependent on the king whom he should avoid. So king and brahmin need but cannot reach each other, because the brahmin must opt out of the necessary compact.