Within the Purva Mimamsa tradition, dharma is understood in a very precise and technical sense: it is that act or purpose which is known only through the injunctions of the Veda. Jaimini’s well-known formulation, *codanā-lakṣaṇo artho dharmaḥ*, captures this succinctly—dharma is whatever is characterized by, or indicated through, Vedic command. It is not grounded in human notions of morality, social convention, or personal intention, but in what the Veda enjoins as obligatory or recommended. Thus, dharma is essentially identified with Vedic *vidhi*—injunctive statements that prescribe what ought to be done.

From this standpoint, dharma is primarily ritual and action-oriented. It consists above all in the performance of Vedic sacrifices, offerings, and ceremonial duties, especially those laid out in the Brāhmaṇa portions of the Veda. These ritual acts are not merely symbolic; they are held to generate an unseen potency (*apūrva*), which in turn yields desired results such as welfare in this life or attainment of heaven. The focus is therefore on correct performance of prescribed actions, rather than on speculative knowledge or meditative insight.

A crucial feature of this view is the status of the Veda itself. Because the Veda is regarded as eternal and authorless (*apauruṣeya*), its injunctions are treated as the ultimate and infallible source for knowing dharma. Dharma, in this sense, cannot be discovered by perception, inference, or independent reasoning; it is accessible only through Vedic testimony. The obligations and duties it prescribes are thus seen as eternally valid and universally binding for those who stand within the Vedic ritual order.

In the Purva Mimamsa vision, then, dharma is a rigorously defined path of action: prescribed duties and sacrifices that derive their authority solely from the Veda and that operate through an unseen causal link. To live in accordance with dharma is to align oneself with these Vedic commands, trusting that the ritual order they reveal sustains both cosmic harmony and individual well-being, even when the results remain beyond ordinary perception.