The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c5.15

c5.15

We may then recognize the pivot of Indian tradition in the irreconcilability of "brahmin" and "king," who yet are dependent on each other, for the king will need the transcendent legitimation that only the brahmin can give. But the brahmin, however much he may need the king's material support, cannot enter into relations with the king, for this would involve him in the world of interdependence—a situation that would be fatal to the brahmin's transcendence,¹⁵ in the same way that "governing" would be fatal to dharma.