In Kumārila’s Mīmāṁsā, one can perform rituals to bring about a particular future benefit or to avoid an undesirable outcome.•Later Mīmāṁsā (after Kumārila), however, favored the idea that one should perform ritual for its own sake and not for any particular result.•This later outlook on dharma is a bit reminiscent of the later classic Hindu conception of dharma in the Bhagavad Gītā (although the Gītā also sees selfless action as a means to purify oneself, which is not part of Mīmāṁsā). •In this later Mīmāṁsā conception, one fulfills a particular role in life as a matter of duty dictated by dharma without expectation of individual reward. •In this sense, later Mīmāṁsā looks at dharma in terms of ethical conduct—perform a ritual action because it is inherently the “right” thing to do, not because you want to get any benefit from it.