are only a comprehensive and systematic compilation of one school is evident from the references he gives to the views in different matters of other preceding writers who dealt with the subject.  These works are not available now, and we cannot say how much of what Jaimini has written is his original work and how much of it borrowed.  But it may be said with some degree of confidence that it was deemed so masterly a work at least of one school that it has survived all other attempts that were made before him.  Jaimini’s Mima@msa sutras were probably written about 200 B.C. and are now the ground work of the Mima@msa system.  Commentaries were written on it by various persons such as Bhart@rmitra (alluded to in Nyayaratnakara verse 10 of S’lokavarttika), Bhavadasa {_Pratijnasutra_ 63}, Hari and Upavar@sa (mentioned in S’astradipika).  It is probable that at least some of these preceded S’abara, the writer of the famous commentary known as the S’abara-bha@sya.  It is difficult to say anything about the time in which he flourished.  Dr Ga@nganatha Jha would have him about 57 B.C. on the evidence of a current verse which speaks of King Vikramaditya as being the son of S’abarasvamin by a K@sattriya wife.  This bha@sya of S’abara is the basis of the later Mima@msa works.  It was commented upon by an unknown person alluded to as Varttikakara by Prabhakara and merely referred to as “yathahu@h” (as they say) by Kumarila.  Dr Ga@nganatha Jha says that Prabhakara’s commentary B@rhati on the S’abara-bha@sya was based upon the work of this Varttikakara.  This B@rhati of Prabhakara had another commentary on it—­_@Rjuvimala_ by S’alikanatha Mis’ra, who also wrote a compendium on the Prabhakara interpretation of Mima@msa called Prakara@napancika.  Tradition says that Prabhakara (often referred to as Nibandhakara), whose views are often alluded to as “gurumata,” was a pupil of Kumarila.  Kumarila Bha@t@ta, who is traditionally believed to be the senior contemporary of S’a@nkara (788 A.D.), wrote his celebrated independent

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exposition of S’abara’s bha@sya in three parts known as S’lokavarttika (dealing only with the philosophical portion of S’abara’s work as contained in the first chapter of the first book known as Tarkapada), Tantravarttika (dealing with the remaining three chapters of the first book, the second and the third book) and _@Tup@tika_ (containing brief notes on the remaining nine books) [Footnote ref 1].  Kumarila is referred to by his later followers as Bha@t@ta, Bha@t@tapada, and Varttikakara.  The next great Mima@msa scholar and follower of Kumarila was Ma@n@dana Mis’ra, the author of Vidhiviveka, Mima@msanukrama@ni and the commentator of Tantravarttika, who became later on converted by S’a@nkara to Vedantism.  Parthasarathi Mis’ra (about ninth century A.D.) wrote his S’astradipika, Tantraratna, and Nyayaratnamala following