The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c8.s2.6

c8.s2.6

Behind the Iḍā ceremony, then, there lurks the ugly specter of violent conflict, such as the one between gods and asuras, for the goods of life that must be immolated before they can be enjoyed at an abundant communal meal or distributed as gifts.³⁴ From this perspective, we can see why the Iḍā ceremony is considered to be a violent "rending apart," a "breaking asunder" of the sacrifice.³⁵ But the puzzling fact is that of all this, of conflict, violence, immolation, and communal meal—in short, of the potlatch scenario suggested by several mythological and ritual features—nothing remains in the actual Iḍā ceremony. It is a perfectly peaceful and harmless affair.