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II

In this section, I would like to delineate the impact of the Mimamsa principles, called nyayas, on the development of the Hindu law. This subject has already been discussed by many eminent writers, yet my endeavour is to remember and remind such contribution in order to grasp the close relation between theory and practice, between dharma as sastra and vyavahara as karma in the Indian tradition. In order to comprehend the proper impact of the Mimamsa principles for the understanding of Hindu law, it is necessary to recapitulate the background and evolution of such law. The history of Indian or specially Hindu jurisprudence has been divided into three periods: (1) The Vedic period, i.e., the period when the legal principles were discussed in the Sruti literature, (2) The period of different Dharmasastras, which in its turn, comprises (a) the stage of various Dharmasastras, e.g., of Gautama, Baudhayana, Apastamba, Harita, Vasistha, etc. (b) the Smrti period, (3) the post Smrti period. I do not intend to go into the details of such history as our main concern here is only to situate the Mimamsa principles in those stages.

Though we all know that Mimamsa system is one of the earliest treaties of classical India, we are not aware of its exact date. Jaimini is generally believed to be the formulator of the Mimamsa-sutras⁶. While investing whether Mimamsa should be based on the Sruti or the Smrti period, it is generally held that “Purva Mimamsa is a ‘reasoned investigation’ of the earlier part of the Veda. …As compared to the Upanishads or Jnanakanda, rituals of karmakanda form the earlier portion of the Veda, the word karma generally meaning action, having been used exclusively in the sense of sacrificial ritual, with which the system of Purva Mimamsa, also known as Karmamimamsa concerns itself.”⁷ This view was supported by A.B. Keith, who maintains that “not rarely in the Brahmanas, specially in later texts like the Kausitaki, the term Mimasa occurs as the designation of discussion of some point of ritual practice.”⁸

The development of Mimamsa system must have preceded the period of various Dharmasutras as its influence can be noticed in the thought and writings of Asvalayana, Sankyayana, Apastamba, Baudhayana as also of many others of the Smrti period. There is no doubt that the principles supported by the Mimamsa had its profound impact on the Smrti and post-Smrti developments.

The meaning of the word ‘mimamsa’ is decision or determination; it also refers to judgement and settlement of disputes or divergence of opinions. Such differences may be in the case of interpreting the sastras or texts as well as in the case of some practical matters. The decision or mimamsa in all such cases of dispute are necessary and being aware of such need the Mimamsakas did formulate certain principles or maxims for settling such controversies. The very first sutra of Jaimini’s Mimamsa-Sutras starts with the enquiry into the nature of dharma: Athato dharma jijnansa. By dharma Jaimini and other Mimamsakas generally refer to those injunctions as enjoined by the Sruti. Hence Purva Mimamsa aims at the judicial interpretation of the sacrificial portion (Karmakanda) of the Veda, while Uttara Mimamsa or Vedanta deals with the Jnanakanda or epistemology primarily. This leads, as we have mentioned earlier, to designate the Purva Mimamsa also as Karma Mimamsa. Such Karma Mimamsa, it is important to realize, is itself a confluence of theory and practice, of maxims and their applications. It is not like Kalpasutra, which deals only with the sacrificial and ritualistic aspects. Nor is Mimamsa like Nirukta which mainly explains the Vedic words and sentences. Purva or Karma Mimamsa has, rather, both these aspects; on the speculative side it formulates certain theoretical principles or maxims which again have their efficacy in practical life. Jaimini in his Mimamsa-Sutras defined dharma as ‘codonalaksano dharmah’⁹ i.e., dharma is that which is known by such sentence that incite one to act. The Mimamsa concept of codona reminds one of the description of vidhi in Nyayasutra: vidhir vidhayakah,¹⁰ i.e., vidhi, though being maxims or principles, implicitly refers to imperatives or injunctions that prescribe a course of action.

A study of the Mimamsa-Sutras reveals that the primary objective of the Mimamsakas (specially of Jaimini), in all, excepting the first Pada of the first Adhyaya, is to delineate the principles or maxims which will enable men to perform rightly the actions that has been enjoined in the Vedas. Due to the vast extent and antiquity of the Vedic scriptures, it is not at all easy to determine the context of all such Vedic principles and consequently they require elucidation and interpretation. Since interpretations were necessary at various steps and it could not have been carried out without certain guiding principles and methodology. Mimamsa as a discourse of judicious determination and interpretation is of utmost importance.

A closer analysis of such Mimamsa rules of the interpretation reveals that there are two aspects of such principles. On the one hand the Mimamsakas seek to determine precisely to what texts and in what degree authority attaches, while on the other hand they want to “classify systematically the various forms of injunction with reference to the actions which they enjoin.”1¹¹ These theoretical principles reflect the logic or rationale while their applications reveal their long-lasting significance.

Such Mimamsa rules of interpretation may be classified under four classes:

• Certain elementary principles which may be called the axioms of interpretation.
• Certain broad and general principles, each embracing a group of cases to which it may apply either (a) as regards the interpretation or (b) the application of texts.
• A large number of specific rules called nyayas (maxims), each applying to a particular case.
• Certain general rules specially bearing upon the character and interpretation of Smrti texts and usages.¹²

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