Knowra Mīmāṃsā Mīmāṃsā Mīmāṃsā is an orthodox Hindu philosophical school that interprets the Vedas, especially their ritual injunctions, and examines dharma, action, and valid knowledge.
Vedas : The foundational body of sacred texts in Hindu traditions, composed and transmitted over many centuries. Mīmāṃsā treats the Vedas as beginningless and authoritative sources of dharma.
Vedic ritual : A set of rites prescribed in Vedic texts, including offerings, recitations, and fire sacrifices. Ritual performance is the central domain in which Mīmāṃsā interprets Vedic injunctions.
Vedānta : A family of Hindu philosophical traditions grounded chiefly in the Upaniṣads and inquiry into ultimate reality. Vedānta gives greater weight to Upaniṣadic knowledge, while Mīmāṃsā centers Vedic ritual injunctions.
Pūrva Mīmāṃsā : The branch of Mīmāṃsā focused on Vedic ritual, injunctions, and dharma. It names the ritual-centered tradition distinguished from inquiry into the Upaniṣads.
Dharma : A broad Hindu concept encompassing duty, right conduct, law, and the order sustaining life and the cosmos. Mīmāṃsā investigates dharma chiefly through Vedic prescriptions for action.
Vedic injunction : A Vedic sentence prescribing an action, often identified by an imperative or optative verbal form. Mīmāṃsā reads injunctions as the primary linguistic means by which dharma is known.
Nyāya : A Hindu philosophical school focused on logic, epistemology, and methods of reasoning. Nyāya accepts a divine author for the Vedas, unlike Mīmāṃsā’s defense of their authorlessness.
Uttara Mīmāṃsā : A traditional name for Vedānta, the inquiry into the Upaniṣads and knowledge of ultimate reality. The paired labels distinguish ritual interpretation from the later inquiry into knowledge and liberation.
Śabda pramāṇa : Knowledge gained through reliable verbal testimony, especially authoritative speech or scripture. Mīmāṃsā explains how Vedic words can yield knowledge unavailable to perception.
Śrauta ritual : A complex Vedic rite performed by trained priests according to śruti prescriptions. Its elaborate procedures supply the school’s paradigmatic cases of ritual interpretation.
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