Mīmāṃsā
A Vedic school focused on ritual action and hermeneutics of Dharma.
Mīmāṁsā is a Sanskrit word meaning 'reflection' or 'critical investigation,' referring to a tradition of contemplation that interpreted certain Vedic texts. Also known as Pūrva-Mīmāṁsā or Karma-Mīmāṁsā, it is one of the six Vedic 'affirming' (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy, focusing on the nature of Dharma through hermeneutics of the Vedas, especially the Brāḥmanas and Samhitas. The school was foundational for the Vedāntic schools (Uttara-Mīmāṁsā) and is a form of philosophical realism.
- field
- Hindu philosophy, epistemology, hermeneutics
- known_for
- Philosophical theories on Dharma, analysis of language, pramana (epistemology), and interpretation of Vedic rituals
- foundational_text
- Mīmāṁsā Sūtra of Jaimini
- key_scholars
- Prabhākara, Kumārila Bhaṭṭa, Śabara, Mandana Miśra
- sub_schools
- Prabhākara (five pramanas), Bhāṭṭa (six pramanas)
Lore & Background
The Mīmāṁsā school is known for its philosophical theories on the nature of Dharma, based on hermeneutics of the Vedas, especially the Brāḥmanas and Samhitas. It held that the soul is an eternal, omnipresent, inherently active spiritual essence, and focused on the epistemology and metaphysics of Dharma. For Mīmāṁsā, Dharma meant rituals and social duties, not Gods, because Gods existed only in name. The Mīmāṃsakas also held that Vedas are 'eternal, author-less, infallible,' and that Vedic injunctions and mantras in rituals are prescriptive actions, with rituals being of primary importance.
Reader's Guide
Mīmāṁsā's significance lies in its foundational influence on Vedāntic schools and its deep analysis of language and linguistics, which influenced other schools of Hinduism. Its central concern was epistemology (pramana), debating reliable means to knowledge and the interpretation of dharma texts. The school's theories on exegesis and theology have been highly influential on all classical Indian philosophies, and its analysis of language has been central to India's legal literature. While Mīmāṁsā focused on orderly, law-driven, procedural life as the noblest purpose of Dharma, Vedāntins extended language's scope to describe and derive. The school's non-theistic and theistic doctrines showed little interest in systematic examination of Gods, emphasizing ritual action over divine sustenance.
Did You Know?
- The Mīmāṁsā school is also known as Pūrva-Mīmāṁsā due to its focus on the earlier Vedic texts dealing with ritual actions.
- The Bhāṭṭa sub-school, from philosopher Kumārila Bhaṭṭa, added a sixth means to knowledge: anupalabdhi (non-perception).
- Mīmāṁsā held that the soul is an eternal, omnipresent, inherently active spiritual essence.
- The foundational text of the Mīmāṁsā school is the Mīmāṁsā Sūtra of Jaimini.
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