Mimansa Philosophy

Mimansa means investigation or enquiry. The primary enquiry is into the nature of dharma based on close theology of the Vedas. It has two divisions, Purva Mimansa and Uttar Mimansa. Poorva Mimansa is ancient.

Dharma, Karma and Rta

The Mimansa philosophy says that the dharma is not accessible to reason or observation, instead, it must be inferred from the authority of the Vedas, which are considered eternal, authorless, and infallible. This implies that rather than paying attention to God exists not, this philosophy focuses on the character of the Dharma.

The Pūrva Mīmāṃsā explains the Dharma as a “virtue”, “morality” or “duty”. The duty is to follow the prescriptions of the Saṃhitās and their Brāhmaṇa commentaries relating the correct performance of Vedic rituals. This implies that Dharma is the essentially ritualism, and there is a great significance of the Karma or action in attaining Dharma.

In this way, Dharma is also fundamentally different from the Rig-Vedic Rta or Rita which is a principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it. While Dharma and Karma are related to each other, Ṛta is described as that which is ultimately responsible for the proper functioning of the natural, moral and sacrificial orders.

The Purva Mimansa was postulated by Jamini. The ideology of Poorva Mimansa was to counteract the challenge by Buddhism and vedanta which marginalized the Vedic supremacy and sacrifices. This school got momentum in Gupta period and reached its climax in 7-8th century. Sabara and Kumaril Bhatta were two main interpretators. It was one of the major forces to decline Buddhism in India, but later itself was eclipsed by Vedanta.