The Principle of Suspension (badha) in Early Mimamsa: the Case of prapta- and apraptabadha

Abstract This article examines the notion of bādha or ‘suspension’, one of the primary hermeneutical devices the Mīmāṃsā school of Sanskrit philosophy implemented to avoid seeming clashes between different commands of the Veda. Through bādha , a Vedic injunction can temporarily be suspended to allow for the unchallenged application of another. In all other cases, the first command remains valid, and its authority is therefore not undermined. This essay analyses the history of the device within early Mīmāṃsā, elaborates on how to decide which of two clashing commands should be suspended, and examines the crucial distinction between a suspension of something ‘obtained’ and that of something that is ‘not obtained yet’.