History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c93.103

v7.c93.103

The Pūrvamīmāṁsāśāstra is the most extensive of all the *darśanas*.¹⁹²³ Śāstra is that which regulates and declares (human) activities and abstentions by means of eternal words (Veda) or by works composed by men.¹⁹²⁴ And it has about 2700 sūtras and over 900 adhikaranas (called *nyāyas* or conclusions on topics for discussion). Some sūtras are often repeated such as 'Lingadarśanāc ca' (which occurs about 30 times) and 'tathā cānyārthadarśanam' (that occurs about 24 times). An adhikarana is described as having five constituents, viz (1) the topic for discussion, (2) the doubt about it, (3) the *prima facie* view, (4) the refutation of the prima facie view, (5) the final conclusion.¹⁹²⁵ A sūtra (aphorism) should be concise¹⁹²⁶ (contain a few letters), but clear in its meaning, substantial, of wide application (lit. facing all directions), should be without pauses or interjected letters and should be faultless. A bhāṣya is that which sets out the meaning of the sūtra in sentences that follow the words of the sūtra and that makes its own contribution (to the elucidation of the subject of the sūtra), while a vārtika is one that considers what is stated in the sūtra, or what is omitted or what is not well stated.¹⁹²⁷ The Kāvya-mīmāṁsā of Rājaśekhara defines the words sūtra, bhāṣya, vṛtti, ṭīkā, kārikā &c. in chap. II.