The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c7.21

c7.21

So actually nothing is solved here either, the problem is left in the air, except by Baudhāyana, the most systematic and at the same time the most explicit authority. He does not try to slur over the problem, but simply and clearly shows that here we have two different conceptions of the ritual. There is no attempt at forging a unitary solution—which we saw is unfeasible—but the two rituals are simply made to run side by side. On the one hand, there is the sacrifice of the Vāyu he-goat, completely in accordance with the classical system, without the head being severed. On the other hand, the nonsystematized ritual, which stands outside the pale of the classical system and which therefore is only briefly but clearly indicated: "They play dice, they cook a bull, a ram, and a he-goat".⁴³ If we leave for a moment the horse's head, like the human one, aside, it is this dicing and banquet revelry that delivers the heads. At the beginning of the Vāyu sacrifice, one of the officiants, the pratiprasthātṛ, is ordered to go outside and fetch the heads,⁴⁴ thus establishing the necessary connection between the two rituals.