Studies in Applied Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā

Studies in Applied Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā is a collection of specialized studies examining the practical application and historical development of Mīmāṃsā principles beyond their original ritual context. S. G. Moghe focuses particularly on the ways in which technical concepts and interpretive maxims of Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā were employed in Dharmaśāstra, jurisprudence, grammar, Vedic exegesis, literary criticism, poetics, and Sanskrit commentary. The volume begins with detailed analyses of such fundamental concepts as atideśa or transfer, punarvacana or purposeful repetition, vākyabheda or sentence division, ūha or substitution, and anuvāda or reiterative statement. Moghe traces the evolution of these terms, compares their treatment by different authors, and demonstrates how they function as practical hermeneutical devices. Several essays also relate Mīmāṃsā reasoning to modern legal interpretation and Western jurisprudence. A substantial portion of the book investigates the use of Mīmāṃsā doctrines by Dharmaśāstra commentators, including Medhātithi, Vijñāneśvara, Devannabhaṭṭa, Mādhavācārya, Raghunandana, and Nīlakaṇṭha. Particular attention is given to works such as the Parāśara-Mādhava, Smṛticandrikā, Bhagavanta Bhāskara, Mayūkhas, and Dattaka-Candrikā. The author evaluates how these scholars applied principles such as upalakṣaṇa, anusaṅga, samuccaya, bādha, and paryudāsa to legal, ritual, and social questions. The later studies explore Mīmāṃsā influences in Kālidāsa, the Meghadūta commentarial tradition, Ṛgvedic interpretation, Śaṅkarācārya’s treatment of arthavāda, political literature, and theories of aesthetic rasa. Overall, the book demonstrates the adaptability and continuing interpretive relevance of Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā across multiple domains of Indian intellectual history.