[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › [The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.heesterman-1985) › c3 # The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c3: Preface The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c3 - **Language:** English ### Preface ### [c3.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.heesterman-1985.c3.1) This collection of essays, most of which have been safely tucked away in the somewhat remote corners dear to the naturally shy Indologist, would not have come about without the encouragement and indeed the insistence of two friends whose wisdom and judgment I have come to respect. Edward Shils, as usual \*suaviter in modo fortiter in re\*, quietly disposed of my diffidence and introduced me to the University of Chicago Press. No less indebted am I to Shmuel Eisenstadt, who also encouraged me and whose mastery of the arcane art of the colloquium provided the occasion for the original versions of some of these essays. It is more than a pleasant duty to record my debt of gratitude to their encouragement as well as to their stimulating thought. ### [c3.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.heesterman-1985.c3.2) I also want to express my thanks to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the publishers of \*Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Süd- und Ostasiens\*, the Indological Institute of Vienna University, Leiden University Press, and Professor John F. Richards and Professor W. Schluchter for their kind permission to revise and republish the papers which first appeared under their auspices. In this connection, I should especially mention my friend and colleague Gerhard Oberhammer, director of the Indological Institute of Vienna University and editor of \*Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Süd- und Ostasiens\*. He hospitably accepted five of the following essays in the publications edited by him, but most of all I feel grateful for our many hours of animated discussion, in and out of seminars, over a long period of years. ### [c3.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.heesterman-1985.c3.3) Indology is not a gregarious field of activity. It is a sort of neglected frontier area, sparsely populated by lone rangers struggling along diverging and little-frequented trails. When these rather solitary trails lead to longstanding friendships, the urge to mention a few of these friends is irresistible. Let me name only Hanns-Peter Schmidt, Madeleine Biardeau, Joachim Sprockhoff, Wendy O’Flaherty, Frits Staal, and the late Hans van Buitenen. ### [c3.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.heesterman-1985.c3.4) Indology may, after all, not be such a lonely enterprise. And by mentioning these few names, I can record at least some of the many otherwise unacknowledged debts I owe. ### [c3.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.heesterman-1985.c3.5) Publishing, I am told, is an industry like any other. It has to deal, though, with a curiously variegated and generally unruly collection of people who claim personal attention, ample patience, and expert help as unquestionably due to them. I therefore want to thank those at the University of Chicago Press who were concerned with this book for giving it the advantage of their excellent care. It is indeed a most gratifying experience to have been asked to publish with them. ### [c3.6](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.heesterman-1985.c3.6) I dedicate this volume of essays to the memory of my daughter Clara—and also to her mother and her sister. It is the only tribute I can offer. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.heesterman-1985.c3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.heesterman-1985.c3) · Pramāṇa