The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c4.s2.3

c4.s2.3

Now it is in the consideration of the śrauta ritual that the unresolved dilemma of the dharma's traditional order stands out most clearly, for the revealed śruti has nothing to say about the world, its concerns and conflicts.⁷ It proposes, on the contrary, a separate, self-contained world ruled exclusively by the comprehensive and exhaustive order of the ritual. It has no meaning outside its self-contained system of rules to connect it with the mundane order.⁷ This is already clear from the conspicuous absence of *sacra publica*. Therefore the conduct of the *śiṣṭa* who finds his fulfillment in the śruti is, by definition, free from worldly attachment. The ritual is *adṛṣṭārtha*, without visible purpose or meaning other than the realization of its perfect order, be it only for the duration of the ritual and within the narrow compass of the ritual enclosure. After completing the ritual, the sacrificer formally divests himself of his ritual persona, quits the enclosure, and returns to his worldly life.