The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c8.s1.11

c8.s1.11

Iḍā is invoked by the hotṛ priest in the middle of the sacrificial ritual after the main oblations in the fire.¹⁶ The adhvaryu priest cuts off some small slices, called iḍā, of the offering substance, which are eaten by the sacrificer and his priests. The ceremony stands for the ritual meal at which the participants share the iḍā, the sacrificial food. The Iḍā, then, is the life-sustaining substance that is released by sacrifice to be enjoyed by the participants. In this connection, it may be mentioned that the Iḍā ceremony also is the time for bringing up and distributing the *dakṣiṇās*, or gifts, to the priests—another form of the life-sustaining substance.¹⁷ After the destructive part of the sacrifice, signified by offering up the burnt oblation in the fire, life is set in motion again and distributed in the tangible form of food and gifts. In this way, we can easily understand that after the devastation of the flood, Iḍā is essential for the renewal of life. But if this explains the function of Iḍā after the flood, it does not justify that her appearance should be preceded by a flood. Perhaps one should not ask such questions in mythology. But the fact is that, apart from the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*, the texts have no need for the flood to explain Iḍā's appearance.