History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c93.243.1

v7.c93.243.1

It is now time to see how the Mīmāṁsakas deal with the contents of the Veda. The extant Vedic literature is of enormous extent and of greatly varied content. Once it is admitted that the Veda is self-existent and not the work of any author, human or divine, every sentence in it apparently becomes of infallible authority. The Veda being the only means of knowing Dharma, the Mīmāṁsakas had to accept that whatever the Veda says was authoritative and binding on them, as Śabara¹⁹⁸⁷ admits. But many Vedic texts are apparently in conflict with each other and often are in conflict with ordinary experience. A few striking instances may be given to show how difficulties arose. The Tai. S V. 2. 7 and Mai. S state 'one should not pile the fire altar on (bare) earth, nor in the sky, nor in heaven'.¹⁹⁸⁸ No one can build a fire altar in the sky, nor in heaven. The Veda apparently prohibits something which is quite impossible and therefore this prohibition seems at first sight senseless. The Tai. Br. (III 8. 10. 5) states that by offering the Pūrṇāhuti the performer secures all desired objects. If Pūrṇāhuti yields all objects, then one need not perform any further rites of Agnihotra &c Does the Veda mean this? The Veda contains stories and legends about individuals e. g. Tai. S. mentions Babara Prāvāhani who desired to be an eloquent speaker and therefore performed a sacrifice called Pañcarātra and secured his object.