Mīmāṃsā

Mīmāṃsā (from the Sanskrit mān, 'to investigate; hence, literally, investigation) is the collective name of two of the six divisions of orthodox Hindu philosophy. It is distinguished as Pūrva- and Uttara-mīmāṃsā, the latter being more commonly called Vedānta, while the former is briefly styled Mīmāṃsā. Though the Mīmāṃsā is ranked, by all native writers, with the five other philosophical systems, the term philosophy can scarcely be applied to it in the same sense as to them; its object is merely to lay down a correct interpretation of such Vedic passages as refer to the Brāhmanic ritual, to solve doubts wherever they may exist on matters concerning sacrificial acts, and to reconcile discrepancies—according to the Mīmāṃsā, always apparent only—of Vedic texts. See SANSKRIT, VEDAS.