Mimamsa and Vedanta (Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita)
Scope
This domain covers Pūrva Mīmāṃsā, which interprets Vedic ritual and dharma, and Uttara Mīmāṃsā/Vedānta, which interprets Brahman. The exam tests śabda authority, arthāpatti, the three Vedāntic schools, and key terms such as māyā, viśiṣṭa, and svatantra.
Core concepts
- Mīmāṃsā: dharma is known through Vedic injunction; śabda is autonomous authority; karma-kāṇḍa dominates. Kumārila and Prabhākara differ on error and cognition.
- Advaita (Śaṅkara): nirguṇa Brahman is real; the world is māyā/avidyā; jīva is essentially Brahman; liberation is removal of ignorance.
- Viśiṣṭādvaita (Rāmānuja): Brahman is saguna and qualified; jīvas and world are real modes/body of Brahman; bhakti and prapatti matter.
- Dvaita (Madhva): Brahman, jīvas, and matter are distinct; five differences are real; devotion and grace lead to liberation.
Worked example
Question: “Compare readings of tat tvam asi.” Reasoning: Advaita reads it as identity of jīva and Brahman, with ignorance causing apparent difference. Viśiṣṭādvaita reads it as unity-in-qualified-difference: the jīva is a mode of Brahman, not identical without qualification. Dvaita denies literal identity and stresses dependence. Conclusion: the sentence is shared, but the schools’ metaphysics of relation differ.
Traps
Advaita does not say the world is nonexistent in every sense; Viśiṣṭādvaita is not simple dualism; Dvaita does not deny dependence of jīva on Brahman. Do not confuse Mīmāṃsā’s ritual focus with Vedānta’s Brahman inquiry.