परमार्थसार (महामाहेश्वर अभिनवगुप्त - त्रिक-दर्शन, अद्वैत शैव साधना एवं सान्वय सटीक)

Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta 23 being and to revolve in the cycles of transmigratory existence. Paśu is the finite being who is fastened like an animal with the ropes of karman and the limiting elements called kañcukas. नानाविधवर्णानां रूपं धत्ते यथामलः स्फटिकः । सुरमानुषपशुप्रादपरूपत्वं तद्वदीशोडपि ॥ ६ ॥ 6. Nānā-vidha-varṇānāṁ rūpaṁ dhatte yathāmalaḥ sphaṭikaḥ Sura-mānuṣa-paśu-pādapa- rūpatvaṁ tadvadīśo'pi. Just as a pure and colourless crystal takes up the appearance of different types of hues reflected in it, so does the Lord also take up the forms of gods, humanbeings, animals and plants (in the manner of reflection). God, appearing as different types of beings, does not at all undergo any change. The basic creation conducted directly by God Himself does not at all involve Him or His divine power into pariṇāma or transformation. He reflects His divine powers out- wardly and such reflections of His powers appear as all pheno- mena and their creation etc. Doing so, he does not require any external substances to cast their reflections into divine prakāśa, the psychic luminosity of His pure consciousness. The basic cause of all such phenomenal manifestations is only His playful nature, by virtue of which such reflectionary creation of all phenomena happens. Creation is not thus due either to any external entity like Māyā or Avidyā or to any internal entity like Vāsanā as propounded by the Vedāntins and Buddhists respectively. It is due only to the divinely playful nature of the Absolute. गच्छति गच्छति जल इव हिमकरबिम्बं स्थिते स्थितिं याति । तनुकरणभुवनवर्गे तथायमात्मा महेशानः ॥ ७ ॥ 7. Gacchati gacchati jala iva himakara-bimbaṁ sthite sthitiṁ yāti Tanu-karaṇa-bhuvana-varge tathāyamātmā maheśānaḥ. Just as the disk of moon appears to be moving when reflected in flowing waters and just as it looks to be static in still waters, so does this great master Ātman appear in multifarious variety in the different categories of bodies, senses, organs and worlds. Here the difference between the moon and the Ātman is this