Who is the author of the 'Mimamsa Sutras', the founding text of the Purva Mimamsa school of philosophy?

The "Mimamsa Sutras" (also called the "Purva Mimamsa Sutras") were composed by the sage Jaimini, probably around the 3rd-2nd century BCE. They are the foundational text of the Purva Mimamsa school, one of the six orthodox schools (shad-darshana) of Indian philosophy.

About Purva Mimamsa:

"Mimamsa" means "investigation" or "enquiry". Purva Mimamsa deals with the earlier (purva) part of the Vedas, which describes rituals and duties (karma).

It focuses on interpreting Vedic texts and explaining "dharma", especially the correct performance of Vedic rituals and sacrifices.

It holds that the Vedas are eternal and not composed by any person (apaurusheya), and that rituals produce results through an unseen power called "apurva".

Later commentators include Shabara (Shabara Bhashya), Kumarila Bhatta and Prabhakara.

The six orthodox schools (darshanas) and their founders:

• Nyaya (logic): Gautama (Akshapada), "Nyaya Sutras".
• Vaisheshika (atomism): Kanada, "Vaisheshika Sutras"; he proposed that matter is made of atoms (paramanu).
• Sankhya (dualism of purusha and prakriti): Kapila; the "Sankhya Karika" of Ishvarakrishna is its main surviving text.
• Yoga: Patanjali, "Yoga Sutras".
• Purva Mimamsa: Jaimini, "Mimamsa Sutras".

Uttara Mimamsa (Vedanta): Badarayana, "Brahma Sutras"; deals with the later part of the Vedas (the Upanishads) and the nature of Brahman. Its main sub-schools include Advaita (Shankaracharya), Vishishtadvaita (Ramanuja) and Dvaita (Madhvacharya).

These schools are called "astika" (orthodox) because they accept the authority of the Vedas. The "nastika" (heterodox) schools, which do not, include Buddhism, Jainism and Charvaka (Lokayata).

Why not the other options?

• ✗Badarayana wrote the "Brahma Sutras" (Vedanta).
• ✗Kanada founded the Vaisheshika school.
• ✗Gautama founded the Nyaya school of logic.