Jaimini facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jaimini
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Jaimini is known for his studies of older rituals part of the Vedas.
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| Born | ~4th century BCE |
| School | Mimamsa |
Jaimini was an important ancient Indian scholar. He started the Mīmāṃsā school of Hindu philosophy. He was a student of the wise man Veda Vyasa. Jaimini is thought to have written the Mimamsa Sutras and Jaimini Sutras. He probably lived around 400 BCE. His school of thought focused on rituals from the Vedas. These rituals were seen as very important for living a good life, called Dharma.
Jaimini's teacher was Badarayana. Badarayana started the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. This school focused on the knowledge parts of the Vedas. Badarayana is also known for writing the Brahma Sutras. Both Jaimini and Badarayana studied each other's ideas. They sometimes agreed and sometimes disagreed. Badarayana focused on knowledge, while Jaimini focused on rituals.
Jaimini's careful study of texts influenced many other Indian philosophies. Important scholars like Shabara, Kumarila, and Prabhakara wrote detailed comments on Jaimini's writings. These comments are called bhasya.
Contents
Jaimini's Important Writings
Jaimini is most famous for his big book called the Purva Mimamsa Sutras. It is also known as Karma-mimamsa, which means "Study of Ritual Action." This book looks closely at the rituals found in the ancient Vedic texts. It helped create the Purva-Mimamsa school. This was one of the six main schools of ancient Indian philosophy.
The Purva Mimamsa Sutras was written around 400 BCE. It has about 3,000 short sayings or rules called sutras. This book is the main text for the Mimamsa school. It explains the Vedas in terms of ritual practices (karma) and religious duties (dharma). It also comments on the early Upanishads. Jaimini's Mimamsa school focused on rituals. It was different from the Vedanta philosophy, which focused on understanding the Self (Atman). Many scholars wrote comments on Jaimini's Mimamsa Sutra. Śābara was one of the first.
Jaimini also wrote his own version of the Mahabharata. His teacher, Vyasa, told him the story. Today, only the Ashvamedhika Parva part of his work is still available.
Other Mentions of Jaimini
The Samaveda Connection
The wise man Veda Vyasa divided the ancient Vedic hymns into four parts. He taught these parts to his four main students. These students were Paila, Vaisampayana, Jaimini, and Sumantu. Jaimini was taught the Samaveda. The Samaveda is a collection of hymns used in special ceremonies.
The ancient text Brahmanda Purana (1.4.21) says: "He divided the Veda into four, namely Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. The histories and the Puranas are said to be the fifth Veda."
The Markandeya Purana
The Markandeya Purana is one of the major ancient Indian texts called Puranas. It begins with a conversation between sage Jaimini and Markandeya.
See also
In Spanish: Jaimini para niños
