Purva Mimamsa is one of the six classic Hindu philosophical
schools, most often known as Mimamsa ("investigation").
It was given the name Purva Mimamsa to differentiate it from
the Uttara ("Later") Mimamsa school, better known as Vedanta.
The name Mimamsa is suitable since it emphasizes the study of
dharma ("good behavior"), notably as revealed in the Vedas, the
oldest and most authoritative Hindu religious literature.
Mimamsas thought that the Vedas were the source of perfect
knowledge, and that the Vedas were not created by God or humans, but rather
were simply heard by ancient sages via their great abilities of perception, and
then passed down orally from generation to generation.
The Mimamsas created sophisticated rules for textual
interpretation to determine these since they considered the Vedas as the major
source of authority and claimed that the Vedas included norms and prescriptions
related to dharma.
It is for these rules that they are most known.
Mimamsas believed in the presence of the soul and in the
necessity of deeds and their effects, as embodied in the concept of karma, both
of which are supported by the Vedas.
The Mimamsas believed that the effect of an action existed
as an invisible force called apurva in circumstances when the result came some
time after the deed.
This power would dependably produce the desired outcome,
thereby preserving the Vedic truth.
The Mimamsas were less united in their belief in God's existence.
The author of the Mimamsa Sutras and the school's founder,
Jaimini (4th century B.C.E. ), seemed to disregard the subject entirely,
whereas Kumarila, a 1,000-year-old Mimamsa luminary, argued against the
presence of God.
Mimamsas made contributions to logic and epistemology in
addition to establishing strategies for reading the Vedas.
One of their most noteworthy contributions was the
formulation of two new pramanas, or ways for humans to attain real and exact
knowledge.
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