Abhinavagupta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhinavagupta

Abhinavagupta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abhinavagupta (Kashmiri: '() (Urdu: ( ) )c. 950 1020 AD[1][2]) was one of India's greatest philosophers, mystics and aestheticians.[3] He was also considered an important musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logician[4][5] - a polymathic personality who exercised strong inuences on Indian culture.[6][7]

Abhinavagupta
Born Shankara c. 950 AD Kashmir, India Died c. 1020 AD Mangam, Kashmir, India Titles/honours Most distinguished exponent of the monistic Shaivism of Kashmir

He was born in the Valley of Kashmir[8] in a Guru ambhuntha, Lakmasagupta, family of scholars and mystics and studied all the Bhtirja, see masters section schools of philosophy and art of his time under the guidance of as many as fteen (or more) teachers Philosophy Kashmir Shaivism and gurus.[9] In his long life he completed over 35 works, the largest and most famous of which is Tantrloka, an encyclopedic treatise on all the philosophical and practical aspects of Trika and Kaula (known today as Kashmir Shaivism). Another one of his very important contributions was in the eld of philosophy of aesthetics with his famous Abhinavabhrat commentary of Nyastra of Bharata Muni.[10]

Contents
1 A genius of his time 2 Social background, family and disciples 2.1 "Magical" birth 2.2 Parents 2.3 Family 2.4 Ancestors 3 Masters 4 Lifestyle 5 Works 5.1 Religious works 5.1.1 Tantraloka 5.1.2 Tantrasara 5.2 Devotional hymns 5.3 Philosophical works 5.4 Poetical and dramatic works 6 References 7 External links

A genius of his time

1 of 8 3/13/13 11:04 AM

Abhinavagupta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhinavagupta

Abhinavagupta was born into a Kashmiri Pandit family. "Abhinavagupta" was not his real name, rather a title he earned from his master, carrying a meaning of "competence and authoritativeness". [11][12] Abhinavagupta was a one-word title given to him, and he was most likely from the Kaul clan and therefore a Brahmin. In his analysis, Jayaratha (1150-1200 AD) [13] - who was Abhinavagupta's most important commentator - also reveals three more meanings: "being ever vigilant", "being present everywhere" and "protected by praises".[14] Raniero Gnoli, the only Sanskrit scholar who completed a translation of Tantrloka in a European language, mentions that "Abhinavagupta" also means "new",[15] as a reference to the ever-new creative force of his mystical experience. From Jayaratha, we learn that Abhinavagupta was in possession of all the six qualities required for the recipients of the tremendous level of aktipta, as described in the sacred texts (rprvastra):[16] an uninching faith in God, realization of mantras, control over objective principles (referring to the 36 tattvas), successful conclusion of all the activities undertaken, poetic creativity and spontaneous knowledge of all disciplines.[17] Abhinavagupta's creation is well equilibrated between the branches of the triad (Trika) will(icch) knowledge(jna) - action(kriy), respectively, devotional songs, academical/philosophical works[11] and works describing ritual/yogic practices.[18] As an author he is considered a systematizer of the philosophical thought. He reconstructed, rationalized and orchestrated the philosophical knowledge into a more coherent form,[19] assessing all the available sources of his time, not unlike a modern scientic researcher of Indology. Various contemporary scholars have characterized Abhinavagupta as a "brilliant scholar and saint",[20] "the pinnacle of the development of Kasmir aivism"[20] and "in possession of yogic realization".[11]

Social background, family and disciples

"Magical" birth
The term by which Abhinavagupta himself denes his origin is "yoginbh" - "born of a yogin". [11][21] In Kashmir Shaivism and especially in Kaula it is considered that a progeny of parents "established in the divine essence of Bhairava",[22] is endowed with exceptional spiritual and intellectual prowess. Such a child is supposed to be "the depository of knowledge", who "even as a child in the womb, has the form of Shiva",[14] to enumerate but a few of the classical attributes of his kind.

Parents
Abhinagavupta was born into a brahmin family noted for their deep devotion towards God and an inclination for intellectual pursuits. His mother, Vimal (Vimalakal) died when Abhinavagupta was just two years old;[23][24] as a consequence of losing his mother, of whom he was reportedly very attached,[16] he grew more distant from the world and all the more focused only on the spiritual endeavor.

2 of 8

3/13/13 11:04 AM

Abhinavagupta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhinavagupta

The father, Narasihagupta, after his wife's death favored an ascetic lifestyle, while raising his three children. He had a cultivated mind and a heart "outstandingly adorned with devotion to Mahesvara (Shiva)"[23] (in Abhinavagupta's own words). He was Abhinavagupta's rst teacher, instructing him in grammar, logic and literature.[25]

Family
Abhinavagupta had a brother and a sister. The brother, Manoratha, was a well versed devotee of Shiva.[26] His sister, Amb (probable name, according to Navjivan Rastorgi), devoted herself to worship after the death of her husband in late life. His cousin Kara demonstrated even from his youth that he grasped the essence of aivism and was detached of the world. His wife was presumably Abhinavagupta's older sister Amb,[27] who looked with reverence upon her illustrious brother. Amb and Kara had a son, Yogevaridatta, who was precociously talented in yoga[28] (yogevar implies the meaning of "lord of yoga"). Abhinavagupta also mentions his disciple Rmadeva as faithfully devoted to scriptural study and serving his master.[27] Another cousin was Kema, possibly the same as Abhinavagupta's illustrious disciple Kemarja. Mandra, a childhood friend of Kara, was their host in a suburban residence; he was not only rich and in possession of a pleasing personality, but also equally learned.[29] And last but not least, Vatasik, Mandra's aunt, got a special mention from Abhinavagupta for caring for him with exceptional dedication and concern; to express his gratitude, Abhinavagupta declared that Vatasik deserved the credit for the successful completion of his work.[30] The emerging picture here is that Abhinavagupta lived in a nurturing and protected environment, where his creative energies got all the support they required. Everyone around him was lled with spiritual fervor and had taken Abhinavagupta as their spiritual master. Such a supporting group of family and friends was equally necessary as his personal qualities of genius, in order to complete a work of the magnitude of Tantrloka.

Ancestors
By Abhinavagupta's own account, his most remote known ancestor was called Atrigupta, born in Madhyadea {Manusmirti (circa 1500 BC, 2/21) denes Madhyadesh region as vast plains between Himalaya and Vindhya mountains and to the east of the river Vinasana (invisible Saraswati) and to the west of Praya}, in India and traveled to Kashmir at the request of the king Lalitditya,[31][32] around year 740 CE .[33]

Masters
Abhinavagupta is famous for his voracious thirst of knowledge. In order to study he took many teachers (as many as 15, or even more!),[34] both mystical philosophers and scholars. He approached Vaiavas, Buddhists, iddhnta aivists and the Trika scholars. Amongst the most prominent of his teachers he enumerates four. Vmantha instructed him in dualistic aivism,[35] Bhtirja in the dualist-cum-nondualistic school. Besides being the teacher of the famous Abhinavagupta, Bhtirja was also the father of two eminent scholars.[36]
3 of 8 3/13/13 11:04 AM

Abhinavagupta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhinavagupta

Lakmasagupta, a direct disciple of Somnanda, in the lineage of Trayambaka, was highly respected by Abhinavagupta and taught him all the schools of monistic thought : Krama, Trika and Pratyabhija (except Kula).[35] ambhuntha taught him the fourth school (Ardha-trayambaka). This school is in fact Kaula, and it was emanated from Trayambaka's daughter. For Abhinavagupta, ambhuntha was the most admired guru. Describing the greatness of his master, he compared ambhuntha with the Sun, in his power to dispel ignorance from the heart, and, in another place, with "the Moon shining over the ocean of Trika knowledge".[37] Abhinavagupta received Kaula initiation through ambhuntha's wife (acting as a dt or conduit). The energy of this initiation is transmitted and sublimated into the heart and nally into consciousness. Such a method is difcult but very rapid and is reserved for those who shed their mental limitations and are pure. It was ambhuntha who requested of him to write Tantrloka. As guru, he had a profound inuence in the structure of Tantrloka[38] and in the life of its creator, Abhinavagupta.[39] As many as twelve more of his principal teachers are enumerated by name but without details.[40] It is believed that Abhinavagupta had more secondary teachers. Even more, during his life he had accumulated a large number of texts from which he quoted in his magnum opus, in his desire to create a synthetic, all inclusive system, where the differences of different scriptures be resolved by integration into a superior perspective.

Lifestyle
Abhinavagupta remained unmarried all his life,[41] we do however know him to be an adept of Kaula and as such, utilized his sexual energy as vital force (ojas), a constant source of shakti to power the spiritual nervous system he outlined in his works. This system involves ritual intercourse between shaktiman and shakti, yet this intercourse is essentially non-physical and universal, and thus for a master such as Abhinavagupta, he was always in intercourse as Shiva-Shakti. We can only speculate about whether he was physically chaste, and either answer to this question is not very meaningful in the context of his life and teachings. Abhinavagupta parallels Shiva as both ascetic and enjoyer. He studied assiduously at least until the age of 30 or 35,[33] and in order to do that he travelled, but mostly inside Kashmir.[42] By his own testimony, he had attained spiritual liberation through his Kaula practice, under the guidance of his most admired master, ambhuntha.[39] He lived in his home (functioning as an ashram) with his family members and disciples[43] and he did not become a wondering monk, nor did he take on the regular duties of the brahmin caste. Thus, Abhinavagupta lived out his life as a writer and a teacher.[37] His personality was a living realization of his vision.[4] In an epoch pen-painting he is depicted seated in Virasana, surrounded by devoted disciples and

4 of 8

3/13/13 11:04 AM

Abhinavagupta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhinavagupta

family, performing a kind of trance inducing music at veena while dictating verses of Tantrloka to one of his attendees - behind him two dt (women yogi) waiting on him. A legend about the moment of his death (placed somewhere between 1015 and 1025 depending on the source), says that he took with him 1200 disciples and marched off to a cave (the Bhairava Cave, an actual place known to this day), reciting his poem Bhairava-stava, a devotional work. They were never to be seen again, supposedly translating together in the spiritual world.[44]

Works
Abhinavagupta's works fall into multiple sections: manuals of religious ritual, devotional songs, philosophical works and philosophy of aesthetics. Here are enumerated most of his works.[10] Bold type faced titles represent the most important ones.

Religious works
Tantraloka Main article: Tantraloka His most important work was Tantrloka, "Light on Tantra", The trident (trilbija maalam), [11] symbol and yantra of Parama Shiva, a synthesis of all the Trika system. Its only complete representing the triadic energies of translation in a European language - Italian - is credited to [45] par, par-apar and apar akti Raniero Gnoli, now at its second edition. The esoteric chapter 29 on the Kaula ritual was translated in English together with Jayaratha's commentary by John R. Dupuche, Rev. Dr.[14] A complex study on the context, authors, contents and references of Tantrloka was published by Navjivan Rastogi, Prof. of the Lucknow University.[46] Another important text was the commentary on Partrik, Partrikvivaraa, detailing the signication of the phonematic energies and their two sequential ordering systems, Mtk and Mlin, was the last great translation project of Jaideva Singh.[47] Tantrasara Main article: Tantrasara Tantrasra - "Essence of Tantra" is a summarized version, in prose, of Tantrloka, which was once more summarized in Tantroccaya, and nally presented in a very short summary form under the name of Tantravaadhnik - the "Seed of Tantra". Prvapacik was a commentary of Prvatantra, alias Mlinvijaya Tantra, lost to this day. Mlinvijay-varttika - "Commentary on Mlinvijaya" is a versied commentary on Mlinvijaya Tantra's rst verse. Kramakeli - "Krama's Play" was a commentary of Kramastotra, now lost. Bhagavadgtrtha-sagraha which translates "Commentary on Bhagavad Gita" has now an English

5 of 8

3/13/13 11:04 AM

Abhinavagupta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhinavagupta

translation by Boris Marjanovic.[48] Other religious works are: Partrik-laghuvtti - "A Short Commentary on Partrik", Paryantapack - "Fifty Verses on the Ultimate Reality", Rahasyapacadaik - "Fifteen Verses on the Mystical Doctrine", Laghv prakriy - "Short Ceremony", Devstotravivaraa - "Commentary on the Hymn to Devi" and Paramrthasra - "Essence of the Supreme Reality".

Devotional hymns
Abhinavagupta has composed a number of devotional poems, most of which have been translated into French by Lilian Silburn:[49] Bodhapacadaik - "Fifteen Verses on Consciousness"; Paramrthacarc - "Discussion on the Supreme Reality"; Anubhavanivedana - "Tribute of the Inner Experience"; Anuttarik - "Eight Verses on Anuttara"; Krama-stotra - an hymn, different from the fundamental text of the Krama school; Bhairava-stava - "Hymn to Bhairava"; Dehasthadevatcakra-stotra - "Hymn to the Wheel of Divinities that Live in the Body"; Paramrthadvdaik - "Twelve Verses on the Supreme Reality" and Mahopadea-viatik - "Twenty Verses on the Great Teaching". Another poem ivaaktyavinbhva-stotra - "Hymn on the Inseparability of Shiva and Shakti" was lost.

Philosophical works
One of the most important works of Anhinavagupta is varapratyabhij-vimarini - "Commentary to the Verses on the Recognition of the Lord" and varapratyabhij-vivti-vimarini - commentary on the explanation of varapratyabhij. This treatise is fundamental in the transmission of the Pratyabhija school (the branch of Kashmir Shaivism based on direct recognition of the Lord) to our days. Another commentary on a Pratyabhija work - ivadty-locana ("Light on ivadi") is now lost. Another lost commentary is Padrthapravea-niraya-k and Prakrkavivaraa - "Comment on the Notebook" - referring to the third chapter of Vkyapadya of Bhartrihari. Two more philosophical texts of Abhinavagupta are Kathmukha-tilaka - "Ornament of the Face of Discourses" and Bhedavda-vidraa - "Confrontation of the Dualist Thesis".

Poetical and dramatic works

Main article: Abhinavabharati Abhinavagupta's most important work on the philosophy of art is Abhinavabhrat - a long and complex commentary on Natya Shastra of Bharata Muni. This work has been one of the most
6 of 8 3/13/13 11:04 AM

Abhinavagupta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhinavagupta

important factors contributing to Abhinavagupta's fame up until present day. His most important contribution was that to the theory of rasa (aesthetic savor). Other poetical works include: Ghaa-karpara-kulaka-vivti, a commentary on "Ghaakarpara" of Kalidasa; Kvyakauukavivaraa, a "Commentary to the Wonder of Poetry" (a work of Bhaa Tauta), now lost; and Dhvanylokalocana, "Illustration of Dhvanyloka", which is a famous work of Anandavardhana.

References
1. ^ Triadic Heart of Shiva, Paul E. MullerOrtega, page 12 2. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 27 3. ^ "Abhinavagupta - the Philosopher" (http://www.koausa.org/Glimpses /abhinava.html) . http://www.koausa.org /Glimpses/abhinava.html. 4. ^ a b Re-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 4 5. ^ Key to the Vedas, Nathalia Mikhailova, page 169 6. ^ The Pratyabhij Philosophy, Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare, page 12 7. ^ Companion to Tantra, S.C. Banerji, page 89 8. ^ Doctrine of Divine Recognition, K. C. Pandey, page V 9. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 35 10. ^ a b Luce dei Tantra, Tantrloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, page LXXVII 11. ^ a b c d e Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 20 12. ^ The Krama Tantricism of Kashmir; Navjivan Rastogi, page 157 13. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 92 14. ^ a b c The Kula Ritual, As Elaborated in Chapter 29 of the Tantrloka, Abhinavagupta; John R. Dupuche, page 4 15. ^ Luce dei Tantra, Tantrloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, 1999, page 3 16. ^ a b Abhinavagupta, Ganesh Tryambak Deshpande, page 19 17. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 21 18. ^ Re-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 8 19. ^ Re-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 10 20. ^ a b vara Pratyabhij Krik of Utpaladeva, Verses on the Recognition of the Lord; B. N. Pandit, page XXXIII 21. ^ Luce dei Tantra, Tantrloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, page 3 22. ^ Re-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 2 23. ^ a b Luce dei Tantra, Tantrloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, page 4 24. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 31 25. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 30 26. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 22 27. ^ a b Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 24 28. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 23 29. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 25 30. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 26 31. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 28 32. ^ The Kula Ritual, As Elaborated in Chapter 29 of the Tantrloka, Abhinavagupta; John R. Dupuche, page 3 33. ^ a b Triadic Mysticism, Paul E. Murphy, page 12 34. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 33 35. ^ a b Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 54 36. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 34 37. ^ a b The Kula Ritual, As Elaborated in Chapter 29 of the Tantrloka, Abhinavagupta; John R. Dupuche, page 7 38. ^ The Triadic Heart of iva, Kaula Tantricism of Abhinavagupta in the Non-Dual Shaivism of Kashmir; Paul Eduardo Muller-Ortega, page 1 39. ^ a b Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 44-54 40. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 35,54 41. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 32 42. ^ The Kula Ritual, As Elaborated in Chapter 29

7 of 8

3/13/13 11:04 AM

Abhinavagupta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhinavagupta

of the Tantrloka, Abhinavagupta; John R. Dupuche, page 6 43. ^ vara Pratyabhij Krik of Utpaladeva, Verses on the Recognition of the Lord; B. N. Pandit, page XXXIV 44. ^ Triadic Mysticism, Paul E. Murphy, page 13 45. ^ Luce dei Tantra, Tantrloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, 1999

46. ^ Introduction to the Tantrloka, Navjivan Rastogi 47. ^ Para-trisika-Vivarana, Jaideva Singh 48. ^ Abhinavagupta's Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, Boris Marjanovic 49. ^ Hymnes de Abhinavagupta: Traduits et comments, Lilian Silburn

External links
Muktabodha Online Library (http://muktalib5.org/digital_library.htm) - containing many of Abhinavagupta's works in Sanskrit including Tantrloka GRETIL: a collection of Abhinavagupta's works in original (http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de /ebene_1/indolo/gret_utf.htm) , also containing other Kashmir Shaivism texts Four biographical articles on Abhinavagupta (http://www.ikashmir.net/abhinavagupta /index.html) by Swami Lakshman Joo, Prof. K. N. Dhar, R. K. Jalali and Geetika Kaw Kher Another Bibliography of Abhinavagupta (http://www.thenewyoga.org /guru_abhinavagupta.htm) by "The New Yoga" Aspects of Abhinavagupta's Theory of Scripture (http://them.polylog.org/4/d-en.htm) by David Peter Lawrence Abhinavagupta and the Synthesis of Indian Culture (http://www.svabhinava.org/abhinava) Essays, debates, multimedia illustrations in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German Towards an integral appreciation of Abhinavagupta's aesthetics of Rasa (http://www.svabhinava.org/abhinava/Sunthar-integral/index.php) (PDF), by Sunthar Visuvalingam Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abhinavagupta&oldid=541750710" Categories: Hindu philosophers Indian philosophers Kashmiri Saivites Kashmir Shaivism Kashmiri writers 11th-century philosophers 1020 deaths This page was last modied on 2 March 2013 at 17:08. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-prot organization.

8 of 8

3/13/13 11:04 AM