The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c9.30

c9.30

Indra, as is well known, manifests himself in battle and contest, but his manifestation is ambiguous. His appearance means victory to the party on whose side he will throw his weight, but it spells doom to the other party. Both parties activate him and contend for his help in “rival invocations” (*vihava*),⁴⁶ trying to deny each other Indra’s effective presence. This is the situation known in the classical ritual—where of course it is considered faulty procedure—as *saṃsava*, sacrificial rivalry: “The two (parties) who press (the Soma) together do so with a view to (obtaining) Indra; the pressing stones, being the teeth of Prajāpati-sacrifice, devour one of the two parties”.⁴⁷