Meykaæõa(deva) 118Meykaæõa(deva) (13th century)
Religious name of Ÿvetabana, a Ÿaiva
philosopher, author of the Ÿivajñana-
bodha, an important source for
ŸAIVA SIDDHÄNTA, often commented
upon by Tamil authors in later centuries.milk
Hindus consider COW’s milk the perfect
FOODand drink, the most sattvik (pure)
of all. Milk from a kapila (brownish) cow
was reserved for brahmins and for
worship. Bathing an IMAGEin milk is a
particularly solemn form of PÜJÄ. Advanced
YOGISsubsist often on milk alone.Mïmäƒsä (‘disquisition’)
This usually refers to the short form of
Pürva Mïmäƒsä (‘earlier disquisition’)
over against Uttara Mïmäƒsä (‘later
disquisition’, or Vedänta). It is one of
the six orthodox (systems) (darÿanas),
devoted to the exegesis of the karma-
kända (the part dealing with ritual) of
the Veda, focusing on the injunctions
contained in them.
The earliest text is the Mïmäƒsä Sütra,
ascribed to JAIMINI. It is a collection of
aphorisms analysing the elements of Vedic
commands in connection with rituals. The
Mïmäƒsä Sütraswere extensively com-
mented on by ŸABARAin the so-called
Ÿäbarabhä•ya, which received many sub-
commentaries by later writers such as
KUMÄRILABHAfifiA and Pärthasärathi
Miÿra (14th century).
The Mïmäƒsakas held the Veda to
be apauru•eya, i.e. not composed by a
person, either divine or human, but self-
existent and eternal. That gave it
supreme authority, and its WORDis the
ultimate proof of the truth of a state-
ment. They also insisted that only those
portions of the Veda are ÿruti(revealed
and therefore authoritative scripture)
that contain an injunction; the rest
(such as Upani•ads) are mere eulogy,
because they do not prescribe actions tobe performed but only describe already
existing entities.
In addition to explaining the mean-
ing of certain Vedic injunctions, the
Mïmäƒsakas analysed the nature and
structure of LANGUAGE. They developed
principles of interpretation which found
application in the practice of Hindu law
up to our own times. (See alsoŸABDA.)Mïnäk•ï (‘the fish-eyed one’)
Title of the Goddess (DEVÏ) as wor-
shipped in the main shrine of MADURAI
in Tamilnäõü. There is an ancient belief
that fish feed their young by just look-
ing at them; the Goddess is expected to
give support to her devotees through
her mere glance.mind
The English word ‘mind’ is the transla-
tion of two Sanskrit terms with very dif-
ferent meanings and connotation in
Hindu thought: (1) manas (which ety-
mologically is close to Latin mens and
English ‘mind’) is classified as the high-
est among the sense organs, the
medieval sensus communis; (2) ‘higher
mind’, i.e. spirit, consciousness, is ren-
dered by terms such as cit,caitanya,
buddhietc.Mïräbäï (1547–1614)
Räjasthani princess, an early and ardent
devotee of Kø•æa, she was married into
a ŸAKTI-worshipping Räjput household
at Chitor. She refused to worship the
Goddess (DEVÏ), saying she was wedded
to Kø•æa. She was forced to leave
Chitor, and fled to VØNDÄVANA.
Reconciled with her husband, she
moved back to Chitor, but after his
death she was mistreated by her in-laws
and left again for Vøndävana.
According to a local tradition she was
absorbed into a Kø•æa image while wor-
shipping there. Her beautiful poems and
songs are still recited by Kø•æa BHAKTASEncyclo - Letter M 10/2/03 9:50 am Page 118