Contents Preface vii Introduction 1 Couplets Contents Pages 1 Salutation to deity 20 2-3 Introductory statement 20-21 4 Four spheres (aṇḍas) 21 5 The enjoyer 22 6-7 One appearing as many 23 8 Manifestation of consciousness 24 9 Manifestation of Divinity 24 10-11 Paramaśiva the Absolute 25 12-13 Reflectionary manifestation of diversity 26 14 Pure creation 27 15 Impure creation 29 16-17 Creation of Kañcukas 30-31 18 Removal of Kañcukas 32 19-20 Creation of senses and organs 33-34 21-22 Subtle and gross elements 34-35 23-24 Three coverings of consciousness 35 25 View based on ignorance 36 26 One appearing as many 36 27 Diversity an apparent phenomenon 37 28-31 Delusion and its two types 37-39 32 Four coverings of Ātman 39 33 Removal of coverings 40 34 Consciousness as the unhidden reality 40 35 States of animation 41 36 The ever-pure Absolute 41 37 Psychic differences between beings 42 38 God appearing diversely 42 39-40 Dissolution of delusion 42-43 41-42 Dissolution of diversity 43-44 43 Definition of Brahman 44

vi Contents 44 Brahman the base of everything 45 45 Interior creation 45 46 Exterior creation 46 47-50 Self-realization 47-48 51-52 Dissolution of delusion and misery 49 53-54 Karman the cause of rebirth 49-50 55-56 Dissolution and ineffectiveness of karman 50-51 57-59 No rebirth and misery for the purified 51-52 60 Definition of liberation 53 61 Liberation in mortal life 53 62 Ineffectiveness of karman 53 63 Vāsanā as the cause of rebirth 54 64-66 Liberation on the dissolution of Vāsanā 54 67 Deeds without fructification 55 68 Freedom from conceptual cognition 56 69 No religious discipline 56 70 Non-pollution by sin or piety 57 71-73 Character of the liberated 57-58 74-80 The Pāśupata vow of a jñānin 58-61 81-82 Satisfaction in perfect unity 61-62 83-84 No place as pure or impure 62-63 85-86 Liberated even while living 63 87-88 Freedom from upādhis 63-64 89-91 Situation at the end of life 64-65 92-93 Rebirth and liberation 65-66 94-95 Psycho-physical behaviour of a jñānin 66 96 Quick liberation 67 97 Liberation by stages 68 98-102 Delayed liberation of a Yoga-bhraṣṭa 68-70 103 Merits of the knowledge of reality 70 104-105 Conclusion 70-71 Glossary of Sanskrit Words 73 Index 81

Preface Kashmir Śaivism is a highly perfect school of Indian philosophy, but has remained more or less confined to the valley of Kashmir. Scholars in Indian plains and the South developed interest in it as late as the present century. The subject is now gaining popularity at some universities in north India as well as in the West. But the main difficulty in the spread of the study of its important works is the non-availability of an easy textbook that could pave the path to explore its finer and sophisticated principles and doctrines discussed in some very important works like Śivadṛṣṭi, Īśvara- pratyabhijñā, Tantrāloka etc. It appears that Abhinavagupta, the final authority on Kashmir Śaivism, must have felt such lacuna in the academic development of the subject. Why should he have otherwise taken so much interest in recasting and re-editing the Vaiṣṇavite Paramārthasāra of Patañjali for the purpose of expressing through it most of the main principles of the theistic and monistic absolutism of Kashmir Śaivism, by the means of an easy and simple method, not over burdened by terse logical arguments and discussions? That Paramārthasāra by Abhinavagupta has been serving students of Kashmir Śaivism as an easy textbook of a comprehensive character for centuries in the past. Students of Śaivism in Kashmir have all along been using such work as a textbook at the initial step of their study in the subject. Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta, being available only in Sanskrit language, could not at present serve the purpose of common man interested in the study of Kashmir Śaivism. It required to be brought out in English and Hindi with explanatory notes for such purpose. The author of the work in hand prepared such two editions of the text some years back. But both the manuscripts remained unpublished for all these years for want of a publisher prepared to invest a good amount for the purpose. Thank God, the director, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers

viii Preface Pvt. Ltd. has now taken up the publication of the English edition of Paramārthasāra under the title Essence of the Exact Reality. It is hoped that the Hindi edition of the work shall also be published by the same publisher in the near future. These two editions of Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta can serve as useful textbooks at the level of M.A. in Sanskrit and Philosophy at the universities in India and abroad. B.N. Pandit Jammu Tawi 1 January 1991

Introduction

There are two works on Indian philosophy which are known under the name Paramārthasāra. The earlier one among them is an ancient work by Ādiśeṣa. Patañjali is generally known by such name because it is believed that he was an incarnation of Śeṣanāga, the famous thousand headed serpent god. Such belief can have risen out of the fact of his having been the master writer who did multifarious and extensive academic work as if he had one thousand heads to think and mouths to speak; or it is just possible that he may have originally belonged to some Nāga-worshippers’ sect and may have consequently been called a Nāga. Yogarāja the commentator of the later Paramārthasāra of Abhi- navagupta committed a mistake in taking the Paramārthasāra of Śeṣa as a work belonging to Sāṁkhya system. Writers have since then been following that view and not even any research scholars of the present age have bothered to correct the mistake. There is no doubt in the fact that some elements of Sāṁkhya philosophy are present in the work of Śeṣa, but the elements of Vaiṣṇavite theism shine more brilliantly in it. Besides, some elements of Sāṁkhya principles can be found in many other schools of Indian philosophy which are definitely different from the Sāṁkhya school. In fact the Paramārthasāra of Śeṣa is a work of that ancient age in which the ancient theistic Sāṁkhya of sage Kapila, the ancient Vaiṣṇavism of Mahābhārata and the theistic Vedānta philosophy of Upaniṣads were studied as one and single integrated school of thought with all such elements supporting one another. Such elements of philosophy had yet to bifurcate and to evolve as some distinctly separate schools of thought. But, in spite of their such integration, the Vaiṣṇavite character of the work is distinctly predominant. The Vaiṣṇavism of Patañjali, unlike the philosophy of later Vaiṣṇavas, is of monistic view and has absolutism as its metaphysical and ontological character. The later Vaiṣṇavism leans towards Vaiṣṇavite mythology but the Vaiṣṇavism of Patañ- jali maintains its philosophic character. Vallabha advocates a

2 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta monistic view but even he comes closer to mythology and pushes to background the absolutist character of the monistic reality. Therefore his Viśuddhādvaita is different from the advaita of Patañ- jali which comes closer to the Upaniṣadic Vedānta. Patañjali's views are highly theistic in character and therefore fall apart from the Vivartavāda of the philosophers in Śaṅkara's line. Paramārtha- sāra of Patañjali is thus the most ancient philosophic treatise on the theistic absolutism of Vaiṣṇavite character. Abhinavagupta, being attracted very much by the style, the method and the technique of Ādiśeṣa, adopted it, made sufficient changes, additions and alterations in the text of the work and presented it as a very good textbook of Kashmir Śaivism, useful for beginners. The language of the work of Abhinavagupta is very simple and its style is sufficiently lucid and clear. It avoids discus- sions on many controversial topics of philosophy and does not touch the views of any antagonists, but presents, in stead, the main principles of Kashmir Śaivism alone. It does not resort to the method of dry logic, but states the principles and doctrines in a simple style. Higher philosophic works like Īśvarapratyabhijñā and Śivadṛṣṭi adopt a method of subtle logic, but Paramārthasāra avoids logical discussions. It throws light on all the important and basic principles of the philosophy of Kashmir Śaivism and is thus the best available textbook to start its study. It is highly helpful in understanding the works of higher standard like Īśvarapratya- bhijñā of Utpaladeva. The basic principles of Kashmir Śaivism, dealt with in Paramār- thasāra of Abhinavagupta, include those listed below: Metaphysical reality, ontology of Śaivism, the theory of the basic causation, the source of the objective creation, the wonderful nature of the phenomenon, its manifestation in the manner of a reflection, the process of the evolution of the thirty-six tattvas, the universe as it runs, bondage and its causes, liberation and its means, varieties in liberation, practical paths that lead to it, the position of an imperfect practitioner, his delayed spiritual evolu- tion and so on. It deals thus quite comprehensively with the sub- ject and that is its important merit as a textbook. Kṣemarāja was a disciple of Abhinavagupta. His disciple was Yogarāja, who wrote a detailed commentary on Paramārthasāra. That commentary explains fully the couplets of Abhinavagupta and discusses in detail many subtle principles of Kashmir Śaivism.

Introduction 3 It enhances thus the academic value of the original work as revised and reconstructed by Abhinavagupta. Such revised, impro- ved and explained Paramārthasāra of the Śaiva author became so much popular with later academicians that most of them forgot the more ancient Paramārthasāra of Ādiśeṣa. Some grammarians like Nāgeśa Bhaṭṭa do quote the work of Patañjali, but most of the later writers on philosophy know only the Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta Maheśvarananda, the author of Mahārtha-mañjarī- parimala, refers to it as Paramārthasāra-saṃgraha. The same has been done by Amṛtānanda in his Yoginīhṛdayadīpikā. An English translation of Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta by L.D. Barnett appeared in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1910. It was a mere translation without any explanatory notes. It did not appear separately as a book and did never become avail- able like that. The Sanskrit text of Paramārthasāra, along with the detailed commentary by Yogarāja, was published for the first time in AD 1916 at Srinagar under the Kashmir Series of Texts and Studies. Its second edition, along with an additional commentary by Shri D.N. Shastri, was published by Ranvira Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Jammu in 1981. Shri Prabhādevī, a disciple of Swami Lakṣmaṇa Joo of Īśvara-āshrama, Srinagar, published another edition of the text along with a Hindi commentary on the Gita Press style in 1977. Another Hindi edition with detailed explanatory notes, useful for M.A. level Indian students, was prepared by the writer of the present English translation a few years back. It also will be pub- lished as early as possible. The present edition with English translation and notes is in your hands. The translation is meant to express the sense and the purport of the couplets and therefore it is not everywhere a strict literal translation. Both these Hindi and English editions of Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta are meant for scholars who want an entrance into the philosophy of Kashmir Śaivism and also into the texts of higher standard like Īśvarapratyabhijñā and Śivadṛṣṭi. Both these editions can serve as good textbooks at the M.A. Sanskrit and M.A. Philosophy levels at Indian universities because Paramārtha- sāra is the best textbook on Kashmir Śaivism for beginners. It can advantageously replace Pratyabhijñāhṛdaya of Kṣemarāja which

4 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta has been occupying such position simply because of its being available with Hindi and English commentaries and also because of the non-availability of any good and suitable textbook with translation and notes in any of these two languages. Patañjali, mentioning himself as Gonardīya, belonged to the Gonda district in U.P. Since he and his associates were a group of touring scholars, as is evident from Caraka-saṃhitā, they were called Carakas or ever travelling scholars. They travelled far and wide from place to place with their leader Punarvasu Ātreya from institute to institute and belonged thus to the whole of India. Atrigupta, the ancient ancestor of Abhinavagupta, was an inhabitant of the land between Gaṅgā and Yamunā. He was invited to Kashmir by king Lalitāditya who provided a land grant and a suitable residential house to him at Pravarasenapura, the modern city of Srinagar, near the Śitāṃśumauli temple on the bank of Vitastā (Jehlum). The location of that temple is yet to be ascertained. It may become possible to ascertain it if and when certain Persian works, dealing with the history of Kashmir during the period of its quick Muslimization under the rule of Sikandar Butshikan in the fifteenth century, comes to light. Some old Pandits of Srinagar, who were alive upto the past decade, believed that Abhinavagupta lived at his ancestral home at Gotapora (Guptapura) in the northern outskirts of the old city near the new colony named Lal Bazar. Places like Guptagaṅgā and Gopītīrtha (Guptatīrtha) on the eastern bank of the Dal lake can have had some close connection with Abhinavagupta. Amṛta- vāgbhava, a great modern scholar, a successful practitioner of the Śāmbhava-yoga of the Trika system and the originator of a kind of Neo Śaivism in this age, came across a Kashmiri Brah- min under the surname ‘Gopya’ at Srinagar in the late twenties of this century. Besides, he felt the existence of some yogins belonging to the line of Abhinavagupta, living at present in divine forms and moving about on the tracts of land near Bahrār on the north western side of Nagin lake towards the north of Hārī- parbat hill. Atriguptā settled at Srinagar in the eighth century AD and Abhinavagupta lived in his human form in the later part of the tenth and the earlier part of the eleventh century. He has recorded the time of composition in three of his works, namely—Kramas- totra, Bhairavastotra and Īśvarapratyabhijñā-vivṛti-vimarśinī and the

Introduction 5 years concerned correspond with AD 990, 992 and 1014 respecti- vely. Abhinavagupta was not a ‘Baniya’ (Vaiśya), as the surname Gupta would suggest in accordance with the present-day usage. His ancestor, Atrigupta was a prāgryajanmā, that is, a Brahmin of a very high rank. Probably some ancestor of Atrigupta took up the job of an administrator of one hundred villages and was on that account designated as a goptā (from √goptṛ) meaning a pro- tector. Such was the usage in ancient ages—गोप्ता ग्रामशताध्यक्षः। (goptā grāmaśatādhyakṣaḥ). He must have worked on the post so nicely that his family was called by people as Goptā. The word in its corrupted form changed afterwards into the word Gupta. The great Cāṇakya, known also as Viṣṇugupta and the great mathematician Brahmagupta also were such Brahmin Goptas whose such name came later to be pronounced as Gupta. Vasugupta and Lakṣmaṇagupta can have risen in the family of Atrigupta. As described by the Kerala saint Madhurāja in his Gurunātha- parāmarśa, Abhinavagupta lived like a prince and not like a beg- ging monk. As said by Abhinavaguptā himself, he did not have any wife or children—प्राजन्म दारसुतबन्धु कथा-मनाप्तः । (ājanma dāra-suta- bandhu-kathāmanāptaḥ). But even then he appears to have lived in his ancestral house with his kith and kin. His five cousins were his disciples. His younger brother; Manorathagupta, was one of his pet disciples. Tantrāloka was written by him in the house of another pet disciple named Mandra whose name has been men- tioned by him along with another such disciple Karṇa in more than one works. All of them were his close relatives with whom he lived and worked. In fact Abhinavagupta and such prominent authors of Śaivism who preceded him did not prescribe the path of wandering monks as did the Buddhists, Jains, Pāśupatas and Vedāntins. Most of them lived the lives of pious house holders, followed the Brahma- nic ways of life as laid down in dharma-śāstras and as come down to them through tradition. They performed all Brahmanic rites but did not advocate any sort of puritanism. Unlike the Buddhists and Jains, they did neither disown nor disturb the traditional Brahmanic religion. They recommended it and in addition prescribed some Tantric methods of sādhanā for the sake of quick attainment of the liberation of the highest type from all bondages. The liberation

6 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta attainable through other paths like those of Buddhists, Jains, Vaiṣ- ṇavas and Vedāntins was taken by them as a thinner bondage of various types. Most of such states of animation were recognized by them as different sub-states of life in its sleeping state called suṣupti. The path of such Śaiva teachers is the path of Siddhas or perfect saints. The methods of sādhanā advocated by them are Tāntric in character. Such methods are very often quick and unfailing in results and yield absolute unity, tasteful through the blissfulness of the absolute, infinite and ever playful divine poten- cy realized as one's own basic nature. The goal of the life prescri- bed by these Śaivas is the recognition and direct realization of absolute Godhead as one's own basic nature. It is called Pratya- bhijñā and can be attained even while one is yet living in a mortal form. These Śaiva philosophers did not prescribe any hard austeri- ties for the purification of the self, nor did they advocate any torturing practices in Haṭhayoga. The suppression of emotions and instincts, forcible control of mind and starvation of senses and organs have been taken by them as harmful. They advocate some such easy and spontaneous practices in Tantric yoga through which a practitioner realizes intuitively his pure and divine nature and recognizes finally himself as none other than the Almighty God having playfully taken up the role of a bonded soul. Besides, they taught a monistic philosophy establishing theistic absolutism. Their view has always been pantheistic in character but they advocate absolutism as well and thus their philosophy is different from the pantheism of the West which does not see God as an absolute reality, lying beyond all phenomena. Their practical path of theology brought about a compromise between the household religion and spiritual sādhanā, so that both went on harmoniously. Their sādhanā was a beautiful combination of jñāna (knowledge) yoga and bhakti. Unlike Vaiṣṇavas, their bhakti did not aim only at a union between God and soul, but also such a perfect unity where God is felt as one's real self by a devotee and where He is seen by him as all phenomena. That is the difference between union and unity. Union is a lower state of spiritual progress and perfect unity is its final state. The Śaivas of Kashmir did not form any special religious sect, as did the Vīraśaivas of Karnāṭaka. They did not at all disturb the traditional religion taught By Smṛtis. They advised to follow one's religion and to practise Śaivayoga, side by side. They did

Introduction 7 not impose any restrictions based on caste, creed, sex etc. Any one having devotion for Lord Śiva could be initiated in Śaivism. Therefore it can be adopted by any one who likes it. His adoption of Śaiva practice shall not disturb his traditional religious prac- tices. Importance of devotion makes it very sweet and interesting. It teaches an integral path of a spiritual training of both head and heart through logical knowledge and devotionol theology. Besides, it does not ignore or curb the Vāsanās for objective enjoyments. A disciple, having such Vāsanās, is imparted a special initiation called yojanikā which carries him after death to some superior existence where he can taste superior objective enjoy- ments. From there he is lead to quick or gradual spiritual eleva- tion in accordance with his psychic situation. Kashmir Śaivism does not thus ignore human psychology. Its method is both logical and phsychological. Such philosophy of Śaivism of Kashmir was carried to its climax on both of its sides of theory and practice by Abhinavagupta, the author of the Śaiva Para- mārthasāra. Yogarāja, the commentator of Paramārthasāra was an inhabi- tant of a village named Vitastāpurī, the modern Vethavottur or Vitastāvatāra. It is a hamlet situated in the foot of Banihal moun- tain below Lower Munda. Vitastā or Jehlum, rising from the spring of Verinag, used to flow by the side of that village and proceed to the downward plane on the back of modern Qazi- gund. That course of the stream was the downward course of Vitastā and was consequently called Vitastāvatāra. The hamlet by its side, where Vitastā was worshipped, got also such name. The waters of the Verinag spring have now been diverted since long to the right side slope but the name Vethavottur is still borne by the stream flowing beneath Qazigund. Yogarāja was a disciple of Kṣemarāja who lived or only wrote at Bejbehara (Vijayeśvara). Kṣemarāja was a disclple of Abhinava- gupta and lived in the earlier part of the eleventh century. Yoga- rāja belonged to the later part of the same century. Kṣemarāja is the only disciple of the great master preceptor who took interest in academic activities. He wrote several commentaries on ancient works and a few independent works on Śaivism. But it is a wonder that he did not take up any important work of Abhinavagupta for writing a good commentary. Mālinīvijaya-vārtika is still without a commentary and so is Tantrasāra. The duty of writing a detailed

8 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta commentary on Tantrāloka of Abhinavagupta fell on Jayaratha in the twelfth century. It appears from the writings of Kṣemarāja that he was over-conscious about his superior intelligence and scholarship and was very keen to make a show of it by finding out new meanings and by expressing things in a complex way. In his commentaries on some important works like Śivasūtra he takes greater interest in quoting passages from various texts and tries less to explain the sense and the words of the ancient texts. So far as his philosophic works like Pratyabhijñāhṛdaya are con- cerned, he tried to confuse the doctrines of Kashmir Śaivism by presenting them in a complex form and by combining together the theoretical principles and practical doctrines in order to make his scholarship and intelligence felt. Besides, he did not try his pen on works containing minute philosophic thought and chose Stotras and Āgamas instead. This tendency did not permit him to make things clear and to work on the important works of Abhinavagupta. In addition, he expresses disregard towards very great ancient preceptors like Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa for whom Abhinavagupta had immense respect and reverence. It is perhaps on such account that the great teacher did not mention his name in any of his available works in which he describes the worth of some of his worthy disciples and simply mentions many of them by name. But it is a great merit in Yogarāja that he does not inherit any confusing tendency from Kṣemarāja. Modern scholars have so far been studying Abhinavagupta and other great teachers through the writings of Kṣemarāja. But now they can start their study of Śaivism through the Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta and that will make a marked difference in their understanding. Kashmir Śaivism as a distinct school of monistic Śaiva philoso- phy and its sādhanā of the Trika system were introduced to the Valley by Saṅgamāditya in the eight century AD. He was the six- teenth teacher in the line of Tryambakāditya I who, having learnt it from sage Durvāsas at the Kailāśa mountain, gave a new start to its teaching in two lines of disciples, one through his son and the other through his daughter. Saṅgamāditya appeared in the former line named Tryambaka-maṭhikā. The other tradition of its teaching was known as Ardha-tryambaka-maṭhikā. It flourished later at the Jālandhara-pīṭha at the modern town of Kāṅgaṛā. The divine scrip- tures of the Tryambaka-maṭhikā were revealed to its teachers in the Valley of Kashmir between AD 700 and 800. These included

Introduction 9 Siddhā, Mālinī and Vāmaka (Nāmaka) Tantras which constitute the trinity of the main Trika scriptures. This Trinity of scriptures gave the name Trika to the mostly popular practical system of Kashmir Śaivism of the school of Tryambaka. The other important scrip- tures of the school are Svacchanda, Netra and the well known Rudrayāmala Tantras, Śivasūtra, a special type of scriptural work, was revealed to Vasugupta sometime in the beginning of the 9th century AD. His chief disciple, Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa flourished during the reign of king Avantivarman in the later part of the ninth cen- tury. He is the only author of Śaivism who has been praised by Kalhaṇa in his Rājataraṅgiṇī as a siddha descended to earth for the spiritual uplift of people. (See RT, V-66). The other Śaiva author who has been mentioned by him by name is Somānanda. He had built a Śiva temple named Someśvara where king Harṣa- deva took refuge for a day before his death when he was chased by his enemies. Somānanda's name has been mentioned in connec- tion with such event in political history. But it appears that spiri- tual attainments of Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa had made him so famous and popular as to attract the attention and interest of the writer of that political history of Kashmir. His religio philosophical and acade- mic activities made the school of Tryamkala sufficiently popular in the valley. He wrote several works, most of which are known now only through references and quotations. His Spandakārikā and Spandavṛtti, both known together as Spandasarvasva, are still available. In Tantrāloka there is such a quotation from one of his works which describes the importance of "dūtī" and proves thus his mastery over the Kula system of Tantrism as well. Some of his works like Svasvabhāva-sambodhana and Tattvavicāra are known from quotations alone. One of his highly important works was Tattvārthacintāmaṇi which has been referred to and quoted by several authors. He wrote a commentary named Madhuvāhinī on Śivasūtra, but that work has also been lost. His works must have been highly mystic in style and character and may have remained out of the scope of ordinary readers and therefore may not have earned the interest of copyists and got consequently lost in obli- vion. Influence of Kṣemarāja, who was prejudiced against him, may also have been a cause of disregard for them in the institu- tion in later centuries. Spandakārikā was wrongly ascribed by Kṣemarāja to Vasugupta and most of the scholars of the present age have been wrongly

10 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta following his opinion in such respect. It appears that some mutual rivalry grew between the teachers in the lines of Vasugupta and Somānanda in the time of Kṣemarāja. The last couplet no. 53 of Spandakārikā was added to it by the teachers of these two lines in two different versions, one ascribing vaguely the authorship of Spandakārikā to Vasugupta and the other ascribing it clearly to Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa. That 53rd couplet does not exist in the texts explained by the ancient commentators, that is, Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa himself and Rāmakaṇṭha, one of his younger contemporaries. Kṣemarāja emphasized the former view and also tried to criticise Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa. But Rāmakaṇṭha, having lived during the reign of Avantivarman, must have been a younger contemporary of Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa. He must have known him and his works very well. His opinion carries thus a far greater weight than that of Kṣemarāja who appeared in the eleventh century and who was prejudiced against Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa. Rāmakaṇṭha says in clear terms that the fiftysecond couplet, अगाध-संशयाम्बोधि... (Agādha-saṁśayāmbodhi...) etc., is meant to pay homage to Vasugupta, the preceptor of the author of the work in hand, that is, Spandakārikā. Thus he does not mention Vasugupta as the author of Spandakārikā but as the teacher of its author. The text of his work consists of only fifty- two couplets. The fiftythird couplet is therefore definitely a later interpolation. Many great teachers and authors of Śaiva monism appeared in Kashmir during the reign of king Avantivarman and composed many works of great importance. Bhaṭṭa Pradyumna, a cousin of Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa, composed Tattvagarbha-stotra, a lyric, throw- ing light on the principles of Śaivism and written in the manner befitting Śāktism. Somānanda, the presiding teacher of the school of Tryambaka, wrote Śivadṛṣṭi, the first philosophical treatise on Śaiva monism. His commentary on Parātriṁśaka is known only through references and quotations. His chief disciple, Utpaladeva, wrote many important works and commentaries, some of which are available but some have been lost. His Īśvara-pratyabhijñā is the most important work on the theoretical side of Śaiva monism. His three smaller works, known jointly as Siddhitrayī, form supplements to his Īśvara-pratyabhijñā. His commentaries on all these four works and also on Śivadṛṣṭi are available in fragments. Some such quotations from his pen are available, which do not exist in any of his known works, and that points towards the

Introduction 11 fact of his having written some more important work or works. He was not only a philosopher but a poet of high merit as well. His Śivastotrāvalī, containing religio-philosophic poetry of high merit, is still sung popularly in the Valley. Rāmakaṇṭha, a disciple of Utpaladeva and a younger brother of Muktākaṇa, the court poet of King Avantivarman, wrote Spandavivṛtti, a detailed com- mentary on the Kārikā of Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa and a Śaivite commen- tary on Bhagavadgītā, following the Kashmirian version of the text. His other works are not available even by name. Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa, the author of Stavacintāmaṇi, a philosophic lyric in praise of Śiva, also belonged to the same period. Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara, the seventh teacher in the line of Vasugupta, explained the teachings contained in Śivasūtra through his Vārtika on them. His explanation of the Sūtras of Śiva is the most authen- tic one, because firstly it expresses the knowledge received through an unbroken direct line of disciples from Vasugupta, the preceptor of Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa. Most of the teachers in the line were them- selves practical philosophers having direct realization of the prin- ciples of Śaiva monism and its Trika system of practice. Secondly he does not over burden his Vārtika with any discussions on any controversial topics and quotations from other works on spiritual philosophy, but explains the doctrines learnt through tradition and expressed in the Sūtras. His Vārtika carries thus a greater weight than the scholarly commentary written later by Kṣemarāja. He be- longed to the period before that of Abhinavagupta. Probably he is the same Bhāskara who has been mentioned by Abhinavagupta as one of his teachers. He cannot be identified with Bhaṭṭa Divākara- vatsa, though he mentions himself as Daivākari. To the same period belongs Utpala Vaiṣṇava who, though a follower of the Pāñcarātra system, composed a scholarly commentary on Spandakārikā. His work named Spandapradīpikā is of great importance as it provides many clues to some unknown important facts regarding the history of Kashmir Śaivism. He quotes profusely from the Pāñcarā- tra texts and tries to elevate that system to the same level of importance as was enjoyed by Śaiva monism and its Trika system of practice. Some works of Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa are known through quotations available only in his Spandapradīpikā. A couplet from the pen of Siddhanātha is also found in it. Both he and Bhāskara accept Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa as the author of Spandakārikā. Abhinava- gupta appeared on the scene in the middle of the tenth century.

12 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta He carried the Kashmirian Śaiva monism to its climax in both of its aspects of philosophic theory and practical sādhanā. He wrote detailed commentaries on all the philosophic works of Utpaladeva and Somānanda. Two among them are still available. One of them is his Vimarśinī on the couplets of Īśvara-pratyabhijñā of Utpaladeva and the other one consists of detailed notes on the works picked up from Utpaladeva's own Ṭīkā on those couplets. Since the Ṭīkā of Utpaladeva is not at all available, the latter one does not become so useful to students as it could have become had the text of the said Ṭīkā become available. This work is named as Īśvarapratyabhijñā-vivṛti-vimarśinī. The former one, named Īśvarapratyabhijñā-vimarśinī, has ever since enjoyed the position of the best and the highest work on the philosophical side of Kashmir Śaivism. His commentaries on Śivadṛṣṭi and Siddhitrayī have unfortunately been lost. Abhinavagupta collected, compiled, arranged in order and inter- preted the main doctrines of the Trika system of Śaiva yoga and that of the religio philosophic rituals of that system and expressed them in philosophic style in his voluminous work named Tantrā- loka, which is the best and unique treatise among all the works on the practical side of spiritual philosophy in the whole world. Abhi- navagupta's Tantrasāra is a gist of his Tantrāloka and is written in simple prose. His Vivaraṇa on Parātriṁśaka, a scriptural work on Trika system of yoga, is very profound in character and con- tains highly minute ideas regarding the esoteric principles and doctrines of the Trika system of Śaiva yoga in its highest aspect. One of his very important works on the philosophic principles and the doctrines of practice of Kashmir Śaivism is Mālinīvijaya- vārtika which is a voluminous work written in simple Sanskrit verse. Such an important and wonderful work on the monistic spiritual philosophy does not bear any commentary, though it requires explanatory notes very badly. Reference to and quotations from many of his other works on the practice of Śaivism are avail- able, but such works could not be actually found so far. One of the most important works among them is his Kramakeli, a commentary on the Kramastotra of Siddhanātha dealing with the Kālī worship in the Śākta yoga of the Trika system. Like Utpala- deva he also was a good poet as well and some of his philosophic lyrics are still available though some have been lost. Several of them have been published as appendices to his book on Abhinava-

gupta by Dr. K.C. Pandey. His Bhairavastotra is still sung by people in Siva temples and homes in Kashmir. In addition, he wrote certain easy text books for students and the most important one among them is his Paramārthasāra, the work in hand. Another such brief work from his pen is Bodhapañcadaśikā. Abhinava- gupta represents the highest peak in the evolution of Kashmir Śaivism. He was followed by authors of secondary importance who either wrote easy works or explained the works of the above mentioned great authors. Abhinavagupta is the final authority on both the sides of theory and practice of the Śaiva monism of Kashmir. Kṣemarāja, a disciple of Abhinavagupta, wrote Pratyabhijñā- hṛdaya, and Parāprāveśikā for beginners. Besides, he wrote some detailed commentaries on ancient works. His Śivasūtravimarśinī has become well known in the present age. His Spandanirṇaya also has been published and translated. Both the works are scholarly in character. While writing the previous one, he appears to be very keen to show his all round scholarship and tries to over-awe his readers by it. He tries to explain the Sūtras but succeeds in show- ing his knowledge of many śāstras and many systems with which he confuses the Trika system. His interpretation of the Sūtras becomes clear only with the help of Śivasūtravārtika by his dis- ciple Varadarāja. His view on the interpretation of the Sūtras is not so convincing as that of Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara mentioned above. His Spanda-sandoha is an explanation of the Spanda principle of Kashmir Śaivism. He wrote commentaries on Stavacintāmaṇi of Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa and Śivastotrāvalī of Utpaladeva. Besides, he wrote short commentaries on some Tāntric works like Svac- chanda Tantra and Netra Tantra. His commentary on Vijñāna- bhairava has been lost. The most important one among such post Abhinavagupta writers is Jayaratha of the twelfth century. He appears to be a disciple of Kalhaṇa, the great historian of Kash- mir and did a highly valuable service to Kashmir Śaivism by writing a voluminous commentary on Tantrāloka of Abhinava- gupta. That commentary alone explains the couplets of Tantrā- loka. Besides, it is a treasury of quotations from many non-available Tantric texts and a storehouse of multifarious historical informa- tion regarding the evolution of Kashmir Śaivism. Many things would have remained unknown but for the valuable work of Jaya- ratha on Tantrāloka. The seventeenth century produced Śivopā-

14 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta dhyāya, the last one among the ancient writers on Kashmir Śaiv- ism. His commentary on Vijñāna-bhairava is a scholarly work of a practical yogin. Many Śaiva practitioners and authors adopted the Śākta view as expressed by Bhaṭṭa Pradyumna in his Tattvagarbhastotra. The most prominent of such teachers are Puṇyānanda and Amṛtā- nanda who give clues to many other such teachers. There is another tradition of Śāktism started by some Śivānandanātha some time about the eighth century AD. It is a special type of highly sophisticated practice in jñānayoga and is popularly known as Kālinaya. It teaches the worship of Kālī, the absolute divine power of the Absolute God, in its twelve aspects and such wor- ship is conducted only through mental contemplation of unity with such power. Modern research scholars count it as a different and independent system of Tantric practice, but the great Abhi- navagupta took it as a special type of Śāktopāya and included it in the yoga of the Trika system. Śivānanda imparted its practical knowledge to three female disciples named Keyūravatī; Madanikā and Kalyāṇikā. It appears that the Apabhraṁśa passages in verse and prose, quoted by Abhinavagupta in Tantrasāra and in his Vivaraṇa on Parātriṁśaka, belong to Madanikā whose teachings on Kālinaya were received by him through a line of several teach- ers starting from Ujjaṭa and Udbhaṭa. Three chief disciples of these three famous female teachers were—(1) Govindarāja, (2) Bhānukācārya and (3) Erakanātha. The lines of the disciples of the first two of them spread well in Kashmir. Govindarāja initiat- ed Somānanda. His teachings reached Jayaratha through a long line of teachers. As said above, Abhinavagupta got its knowledge from the teachers in the line of Bhānuka. Kālinaya became so popular in Kashmir by the twelfth century that it was accepted by its adherants as a separate system of Tāntric sādhanā and conse- quently Jayaratha refers to it as Kramadarśana. Such recognition by Jayaratha made the scholars of the present age think in such line and some of them have vowen many things around such view of Jayaratha. But, doing so, they are not perhaps taking into consi- deration the views of Abhinavagupta, the highest authority on the theory and the practice of Kashmir Śaivism. In the far South there appeared a saint scholar named Maheśvarānanda, alias Gorakṣanātha, who lived in the Cola country. He was a Kaula in his practical sādhanā and his philosophic view point was Śāktic

Introduction 15 in character. He appears to have been impressed by the style of Abhinavagupta as he has adopted it in writing his commentary named Primala on his own philosophic work named Mahārtha- mañjarī. That commentary also is a store house of information about the history of Kashmir Śaivism. Puṇyānanda wrote Kāma- kalā-vilāsa and Amṛtānanda explained it. In addition he wrote Cidvilāsa; a detailed commentary on Yoginīhṛdaya, a Tāntric text, and many other works known only through references and quota- tions. Śitikaṇṭha, a Kashmirian teacher of Kaulism, wrote Mahā- nayaprakāśa in old Kashmiri language in about the thirteenth century. Another Kashmirian author of Kaulism was Sāhib-Kaula, alias Ānandanāth who flourished, in the seventeenth century and wrote many wonderful works on Śāktic Śaivism. His Devīnāma- vilāsa has been published. His Śivajīvadaśaka appeared in a college magazine and many other works from his pen are lying unpublished. Śaiva and Śākta philosophies of monism are not any two diffe- rent schools of thought. The Ultimate Truth is both, Śiva and Śakti, that is, God and His Godhead. It is one but is understood and taught in such two aspects. God is that absolute and pure I-cons- ciousness which transcends all material and mental phenomena and shines through the psychic lustre of that consciousness. He is always aware of His Godhead and such awareness makes Him active towards its outward manifestation which results in the show of all His divine activities. He is Śiva when thought about in His transcendental aspect of pure I-consciousness. He is Śakti when contemplated upon in the aspect of His divine activities of creation, preservations and absorption of all phenomena and oblivion and revelation of His nature of purity and divinity. Śāktism and Śaivism are just two aspects of one and the same philosophy, the former aspect giving more importance to the practical sādhanā and the latter one to the philosophic theory. When God inspires playfully the correct and real knowledge in any beings they recognize and realise themselves as none other than the Almighty God Himself, shining in His above mentioned two aspects of Śivahood and Śaktihood. That is the pratyabhijñā or the recognition of the self as established in Kashmir Śaivism. The same pratyabhijñā of the real nature and character of the self is the final aim of all practices in Śāktism which accepts the philosophical principles of Śaivism. All Śaiva authors and teachers

16 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta adopt Śākta methods of sādhana for the sake of a quick self- recognition. Śaivism and Śāktism are thus simply two aspects of one and the same philosophy, the former one giving greater importance to the theoretical knowledge of the Truth and the latter one to that practical sādhanā which yields as its final result the actual self-experience of the Truth. Philosophers like Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa, Somānanda and Abhinavagupta can be taken as both Śaivas and Śāktas. Bhaṭṭa Pradyumna, the Śākta philosopher, has been mentioned by Utpaladeva as a Śaiva and a Svayūthya, that is, a philosopher belonging to his own rank, the rank of Śaivas. Such Śaiva/Śākta authors were all these philosophers from Śiva- nandanātha and Maheśvarānanda to Sāhib Kaula. The sur- name Nātha was generally adopted by such Śākta/Śaiva practi- tioners. Lalleśvarī, who was a master of religio philosophic lyric poetry composed in Kashmiri language, was a follower of Śaivism. She gave start to an order of saints following the sādhanā of both Śaivism and Sufism. Members of such order are still roaming about in Kashmir. The tradition of writing commentaries and minor works on Śaivism continues still in the Valley and an example of it is the Svātantryadarpaṇa by the writer of these pages. It is a new textbook of Kashmir Śaivism written in Kārikā style. The basic philosophy of Abhinavagupta is theistic absolutism. He accepts the monistic and absolute pure consciousness as the only eternal reality and establishes Godhead as the very essential nature of such monistic reality. It is in fact beyond the reach of mind, intellect and speech and is thus the absolute truth. But the manifestation of all phenomena is due to its divine power which is its basic nature and therefore it is the Almighty God. It is the only infinite, eternal and perfect I-consciousness which is not to be taken as ego, but as pure self-awareness. Being eternal and infinite, it is not conditioned by time and space. Being absolutely self dependent, it is not bound by any rules of causa- tion and does not require anything other than it for the sake of the conduct of the activities of Godhead. Such activities are creation, preservation, dissolution, obscuration and revelation. The first three run the whole universe, the fourth one pushes souls towards self oblivion and the fifth one inspires in them the true knowledge of the whole phenomenon. Conducting such divine activities it is accepted as God. The aspect of the pure and perfect I-consciousness of the Abso-