The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c4.s7.2

c4.s7.2

The Mughal rulers, however, although asserting their claim to universal dominion, were well aware of their limitations. They recognized implicitly an "inner frontier" raggedly and shiftingly dividing taxpaying regulation areas from those held by tributary or rebellious—the two qualifications easily shade over into one another—chiefs or rājās. In many ways, this arrangement recalls the ancient complementary opposition of "village" and "wilderness," of the settled sphere and the sphere of the war band. In this context, an institution like the mulkgīrī circuit easily falls into place.