The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c6.s2: 5

The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c6.s2

Language: English

5 c6.s2.1

Death must constantly be overcome in order to renew life. The preclassical dualistic system of ritual brought this about through the cooperation of the rival parties in endless rounds of "qui perd gagne." This meant that one was all the time doubly dependent on the other. One needed the other so as to be able to shed one's dead, impure self; but, on the other hand, to fill the vacuum thus created, one again depended on the other. *Pāpman*, "evil," had to be passed to the other so as to be reconverted into *śrī*, "good fortune"; but in order to receive it back, one again depended on the other.

c6.s2.2

It seems clear that the cooperation between the rival parties is as delicate as it is pivotal. In the texts we can still find the fear that the sacrifice that has been offered will not come back again. Thus *Taittirīya Saṃhitā* 6. 6. 7. 3 says that at the end of the Soma ceremony, in the afternoon, the sacrifice leaves the one who has offered it and goes away to the one who has not offered it; therefore special libations are prescribed to hold it. Thus we also read that "the food of him who has given all, has gone to the (other) people" and therefore he must go there to win it back again.³⁸ The well-known motif of the sacrifice going away from the devas to join the asuras and of the efforts of the devas to win it back seems to bear out the same idea.

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Since it is in the last resort oneself that one offers—the offerings and dakṣiṇās, as has been mentioned, represent the yajamāna—it is easy to see that the procedure involved a heavy risk. In addition, the reciprocal obligation not only to give but also to accept the evil, the death of the others, must have added to the strain of the relations between the parties. The continuity of life depended on the others, but this dependence was permeated with the idea of death. It is perhaps against this background that we should see the concept of "recurrent death" (*punarmṛtyu*).³⁹

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At any rate, it would seem that here lies the crucial point where the development of ritual thought started. The problem before the ancient ritualists was to break through the vicious circle of mutual dependence. They had to find a way permanently to overcome death and secure the continuity of life. The solution that presented itself to them was to short-circuit the bilateral pattern of exchange and reversal by cutting out the other, the rival party. The elimination of the rival brought the cosmic cycle of life and death in one hand; thus the single yajamāna was enabled to deal ritually with death without incurring the risk involved in the ambivalent cooperation with the others.

Linked texts (1)

Taittirīyasaṃhitā — Sanskrit