History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c93.386.3

v7.c93.386.3

It has been shown how from Vedic times to the present day great changes have taken place in religious ideas, worship and practices, how smṛtis from Gautama, Āpastamba, Manu downwards espouse conflicting views so much so that as early as the Mahābhārata Vyāsa ²⁰⁷² had to protest that 'rationalisation is unstable, Vedas are in conflict with each other, there is no single sage whose opinion is held to be authoritative (by all), the truth about Dharma is enveloped in a cave (i. e. it cannot be clearly discerned) and that therefore the path (to be followed) is the one followed by the great mass of people' The Mīmāṁsā does not often lead to certain conclusions and it has already been seen how great Mīmāṁsā writers like Śabara, Kumārila, Prabhākara differ among themselves on numerous topics and it would be further illustrated later on how even great Mīmāṁsakas evolve highly conflicting conclusions in the interpretation of simple smṛti passages.