Abhinavagupta

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Abhinavagupta ( Sanskrit : अभिनवगुप्त) (* around 950; † 1020 ) was one of the greatest Indian philosophers, mystics and aesthetes. He was also an eminent musician and poet, playwright, exegete , theologian and logician, and polymath who had a profound influence on Indian culture. Abhinavagupta was born in the valley of Kashmir into a family of scholars and mystics and studied all schools of philosophy and art of his time under the guidance of over 15 teachers and gurus. During his long life he wrote over 35 works, the largest and best known being the Tantraloka , an encyclopedic treatise on the philosophical and practical aspects of the Trika and Kaula , now known as Kashmir Shaivism .

Another significant contribution to the philosophy of aesthetics was his famous Abhinavabharati commentary on the Natyashastra of Bharata Muni.

It was reported that "Abhinavagupta" was not his real name, but a title bestowed by his master, meaning "competence and authority". In his analysis, Jayaratha (1150–1200), who was Abhinavagupta's most important commentator, opens up a further three meanings: “always vigilant”, “everywhere present” and “protected from praise”. Raniero Gnoli, who translated the Tantraloka into a European language, mentions that "Abhinavagupta" also means "new". as a reference to the ever new creative power of his mystical experience.

Jayaratha described that Abhinavagupta possessed all the six qualities necessary for the recipients of the high degree of Shaktipat (Divine Grace - anugraha) as described in the sacred texts (Śrīpūrvaśāstra): an unwavering belief in God, realization of mantras , Control over objective principles (regarding the 36 Tattvas ), successful completion of all activities started, poetic creativity and spontaneous knowledge of all disciplines.

Abhinavagupta's work is balanced between the branches of the triad ( trika ) and the will ( Icchā ) - the knowledge ( Jnana ) - the action ( Kriya ) and last but not least devotional songs and academic-philosophical works and works on ritual yoga practices.

As an author, he is seen as a systematist of philosophical ideas. He reconstructed, rationalized and instrumented the philosophical knowledge in a more coherent form, using all available sources of his time, similar to a modern scientifically working Indologist.

Various contemporary scholars characterized Abhinavagupta as a "brilliant scholar and saint", as "the pinnacle of development in Kashmir Shaivism " and "in possession of yogic self-realization".

origin

With the expression “magical birth” Abhinavagupta himself describes its origin as “yoginībhū” - born of a yogini. In Kashmir Shaivism, and especially in Kaula, there is a belief that a descendant of parents who are firmly rooted in the divine essence of Bhairava is endowed with extraordinary spiritual and intellectual ability. Such a child is assumed to be a "depository of knowledge" that already has the shape of Shiva in the womb , to name just a few attributes.

parents

Abhinagavupta was born into a Brahmin family known for deep devotion to God with inclinations for intellectual pursuit.

His mother Vimalā ( Vimalakalā ) died when Abhinavagupta was 2 years old. Due to the loss of his mother, by which he was deeply affected, he grew up further away from the world and focused more on spiritual pursuits.

Narasimhagupta , his father, followed an ascetic lifestyle after his wife's death while raising his three children. According to Abhinavagupta, he had cultivated the mind and heart and had an extraordinary devotion to Maheshvara (Shiva). He was Abhinavagupta's first teacher who introduced him to Sanskrit , Indian logic and Sanskrit literature .

family

Abhinavagupta had a brother and a sister. The brother Manoratha was a very well trained admirer of Shiva. His sister Ambā (probably named after Navjivan Rastorgi) surrendered to worship after her husband's death.

His cousin Karna demonstrated in his youth that he understood the essence of Shaivism and was detached from the world. His wife was believed to be Abhinavagupta's older sister, Ambā , who looked up to her great brother with reverence. Ambā and Karna had a son, Yogeśvaridatta , who showed an early talent in yoga ( yogeśvar means "god of yoga").

Abhinavagupta also mentions his disciple, Rāmadeva, as a devoted servant of his master devoted to the study of the scriptures. Another cousin was Ksema , possibly identical to Abhinavagupta's disciple Ksemarāja . Mandra , a childhood friend of Karna's , was her host in a suburban residence. Not only was he rich and of a pleasant personality, but he was equally educated. And last but not least, Vatasikā , Mandra's aunt, was especially mentioned by Abhinavagupta, as she looked after him with extraordinary devotion and care. To express his gratitude, Abhinavagupta stated that Vatasikā deserved the merits for the successful completion of his work.

The picture that emerges here is that Abhinavagupta lived in a nurturing and protected environment, where his creative energies had all the support he needed. Everyone around him was filled with spiritual fervor and had chosen Abhinavagupta as their spiritual master. Such a supportive group of family and friends was necessary as was the personal qualities of genius to accomplish a work the size of the tantraloka .

According to Abhinavagupta's own account, his most distant ancestor was Atrigupta , who was born in Madhyadeśa (probably now the town of Kannauj) in India and who had moved to Kashmir at the request of King Lalitāditya around the year 740

master

Abhinavagupta is famous for its insatiable thirst for knowledge. He therefore had at least 15 teachers, both mystical philosophers and scholars from Vishnuism , Buddhism , Shaiva Siddhanta and the Trika scholars.

Among the most prominent teachers include Vāmanātha which it into the dualistic Shaivism briefed, and Bhūtirāja , who introduced him to the dualistic and non-dualistic school. In addition to teaching Abhinavagupta, Bhūtirāja was also the father of two well-known scholars:

Laksmasnagupta , a direct disciple of Somānanda , in the line of Trayambaka , was highly regarded by Abhinavagupta and taught him all schools of monotheistic thought: Krama , Trika and Pratyabhijña (without the kula ).

Śambhunātha taught him the fourth school ( Ardha-trayambaka ). That school is Kaula , and it was from Trayambaka's daughter.

For Abhinavagupta, Śambhunātha was the most admired guru. In describing the greatness of the Teacher, Abhinavagupta compared Śambhunātha to the sun for its power to drive ignorance from the heart, and elsewhere, to "the moon that shines over the ocean of Trika knowledge".

Abhinavagupta received the Kaula initiation through the wife of Śambhunātha , who acted as a dūtī or canal. Initiation is transmitted through a specific tantric sexual act, whereby all the energy is transformed and sublimated, first into the heart and finally into the consciousness. Such a method is difficult but very quick and is reserved for students who have thrown off their mental limitations and are just as pure.

It was Śambhunātha who asked him to write the tantrāloka . As a guru, he had a profound influence on the structure of tantrāloka and in the life of its creator, Abhinavagupta.

12 of his main teachers are listed by name but without details. It is believed that Abhinavagupta had other teachers. In particular, he collected a large number of texts, which he cited in his great work, in his desire to create a synthetic, all-inclusive work where the differences between different scriptures can be resolved by merging into a higher point of view.

lifestyle

Abhinavagupta remained unmarried all his life, although he was an adept of Kaula and as such was not completely sexually abstinent.

He studied diligently until at least the age of 30 or 35, mostly traveling around Kashmir.

According to his own account, he obtained spiritual liberation through his Kaula practice, which is based on tantric sexuality, under the guidance of his revered master Śambhunātha .

He lived in his house, which served as an ashram , with members of his family and his disciples, and he did not become a wandering monk nor did he perform the regular duties of the Brahmin caste.

So Abhinavagupta lived a life as a scribe and teacher. His personality was a living realization of his vision. On a contemporary pencil drawing, Abhinavagupta is shown as in Vir asana , surrounded by devoted students and family who perform a kind of trance music on the vina while dictating the verses of the tantrāloka to an assessor - behind him two dūtī (female yogis ) waiting for him .

A legend about the moment of his death (c. 1015 to 1025) says that he hiked with 1200 students to a cave, the still known Bhairava Cave , and recited his poem Bhairava-stava . Then they were no longer seen, presumably because of the crossing into the spiritual world.

Works

Abhinavagupta's works fall into many sections: manuals of religious rituals, devotional songs, philosophical works, and philosophy of aesthetics. Most of his works are listed here:

Philosophical works

Abhinavagupta's most important work was the Tantrāloka , "Light on Tantra", a synthesis of the entire Trika system. Its only complete translation is available in Italian by Raniero Gnoli. The esoteric chapter 29 on the Kaula ritual was translated into English together with Jayaratha's commentary by John R. Dupuche, Rev. Dr. A complex study of the context, authors, contents and references of the tantrāloka has been published by Navjivan Rastogi, a professor at Lucknow University.

Another significant text was the commentary on Parātrīśikā , which deals with the importance of phonemic energies and their two systems, Mātrkā and Mālinī, Jaideva Singh's last major translation project.

Tantrasāra ("Essence of Tantra") is a prose version of Tantrāloka , which was presented again in Tantroccaya , and finally in a very short summary under the title Tantravatadhānikā - the "Seed of Tantra".

Pūrvapañcikā was a commentary on Pūrvatantra , also Mālinīvijaya Tantra, which got lost. Mālinīvijayā-varttika - “Commentary on the Mālinīvijaya” is a commentary in poem form on the first verse of the Mālinīvijaya Tantra . Kramakeli - "Krama's Game" was a comment by Kramastotra that was also lost. Bhagavadgītārtha-samgraha or “Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita ” now has an English translation by Boris Marjanovic.

Other religious works are: Parātrīśikā-laghuvrtti - "A brief comment on Parātrīśikā" Paryantapañcāśīkā - "Fifty Stanzas on the Supreme Reality", Rahasyapañcadaśikā - "15 verses on the mystical doctrine," Laghvī prakriyā - "short ceremony," Devīstotravivarana - " Commentary on the Hymn to the Devi ”and Paramārthasāra -“ Essence of the Supreme Reality ”.

One of the most important works by Anhinavagupta is Īśvarapratyabhijñā-vimarśini - “Commentary on the verses about the perception of God” and Īśvarapratyabhijñā-vivrti-vimarśini - Commentary on the explanation of Īśvarapratyabhijñā . This treatise is fundamental in the tradition of the Pratyabhijña school (the branch of Kashmir Shaivism based on the direct perception of God) to this day. Another commentary on the Pratyabhijña work - Śivadrstyā-locana (“Light on Śivadrsti”) was lost. Another lost comment is Padārthapraveśa-nirnaya-tīkā and Prakīrnkavivarana - “Commentary on the Notebook” - refers to the third chapter of the Vākyapadīya by Bhartrihari .

Two other philosophical texts by Abhinavagupta are Kathāmukha-tilaka - "Ornament of the face of discourses" and Bhedavāda-vidārana - "Confrontation of the dualistic thesis".

Abhinavagupta's most important work on the philosophy of art is Abhinavabhāratī , a long and complex commentary on Natyashastra by Bharata Muni. This work summarizes the ancient Indian music theory Gandharva and is an essential factor in the continuation of Abhinavagupta's fame to this day. This includes his contribution to the theory of rasa (aesthetic taste).

Devotional hymns

Abhinavagupta wrote a lot of devotional poems , most of which were translated into French by Lilian Silburn. : Bodhapañcadaśikā - "15 verses on consciousness", Paramārthacarcā - "Discussion of the Supreme Reality", Anubhavanivedana - "Tributes to the inner experience" - Anuttarāstikā - "Eight verses on Anuttara", Krama-stotra - a hymn that differs from the fundamental text of the Krama school distinguishes, Bhairava-stava - "Hymn to Bhairava", Dehasthadevatācakra-stotra - "Hymn to the wheel of the deities who live in the body", Paramārthadvādaśikā - "Twelve verses on the highest reality" and Mahopadeśa-vimśatikā - "Twenty Verses on the great teaching ”. The poem Śivaśaktyavinābhāva-stotra - "Hymn on the inseparability of Shiva and Shakti" has been lost.

Other poetic works are: Ghata-karpara-kulaka-vivrti , a commentary on the “Ghatakarpara” by Kalidasa ; Kāvyakautukavivarana , a "Commentary on the Miracles of Poetry" (a work by of Bhatta Tauta) that has been lost; and Dhvanyālokalocana , "Illustration of Dhvanyāloka," a famous work by Anandavardhana .

literature

  • Abhivanagupta; Bäumer, Bettina: Paths into Light - Texts of Tantric Shaivism from Kashmir, Zurich 1992.
  • John R. Dupuche: Abhinavagupta: the Kula ritual, as elaborated in chapter 29 of the Tantrāloka . Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 2006, ISBN 81-208-1979-9 .
  • RC Dwivedi, Rastogi, Navjivan: Tantraloka of Abhinavagupta . Asian Humanities Press, Berkeley 1985, ISBN 0-89581-738-1 .
  • Rajanaka Jayaratha: The Tantraloka of Abhinava Gupta (=  Kashmir series of texts and studies . No. 23, 29, 30, 35, 36, 38, 41, 47 ). Cosmo, New Delhi 2009.
  • Pushpendra Kumar (ed.), MM Ghosh ( transl .): Natyasastra of Bharatamuni: Text, Commentary of Abhinava Bharati by Abhinavaguptacarya and English Translation. New Bharatiya Book Corporation, Delhi 2006.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Triadic Heart of Shiva, Paul E. Muller-Ortega, page 12
  2. ↑ Introduction to the Tantraloka Navjivan Rastogi, page 27
  3. ↑ Re-Accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 4
  4. ^ Key to the Vedas, Nathalia Mikhailova, p. 169
  5. ↑ The Pratyabhijñā Philosophy, Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare, p. 12
  6. ↑ Companion to Tantra, SC Banerji, p. 89
  7. ^ Doctrine of Divine Recognition, KC Pandey, S. V
  8. ^ A b Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 35
  9. ↑ a b Luce dei Tantra, Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, S. LXXVII
  10. ↑ a b c d e Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 20
  11. ↑ The Krama Tantricism of Kashmir; Navjivan Rastogi, page 157
  12. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 92
  13. ↑ a b c John R. Dupuche: Abhinavagupta: the Kula ritual, as elaborated in chapter 29 of the Tantrāloka . 1st edition. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 2006, ISBN 81-208-1979-9 , pp. 4 (English).
  14. ↑ a b Luce dei Tantra, Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, 1999, page 3
  15. ↑ Abhinavagupta, Ganesh Tryambak Deshpande, p. 19
  16. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 21
  17. ↑ Re-Accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, S. 8
  18. ↑ Re-Accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, S. 10
  19. ↑ a b Īśvara Pratyabhijñā Kārikā of Utpaladeva, verses on the perception of God; BN Pandit, S. XXXIII
  20. ↑ Re-Accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, S. 2
  21. ↑ a b Luce dei Tantra, Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, p. 4
  22. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 31
  23. ↑ Abhinavagupta, Ganesh Tryambak Deshpande, 19
  24. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 30
  25. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 22
  26. ↑ a b Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 24
  27. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 23
  28. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 25
  29. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 26
  30. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 28
  31. ↑ John R. Dupuche: Abhinavagupta: the Kula ritual, as elaborated in chapter 29 of the Tantraloka . 1st edition. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 2006, ISBN 81-208-1979-9 , pp. 3 (English).
  32. ↑ a b Triadic Mysticism, Paul E. Murphy, S. 12
  33. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 33
  34. ↑ a b c Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 54
  35. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 34
  36. ↑ a b John R. Dupuche: Abhinavagupta: the Kula ritual, as elaborated in chapter 29 of the Tantraloka . 1st edition. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 2006, ISBN 81-208-1979-9 , pp. 7 (English).
  37. ↑ The Triadic Heart of Siva, Kaula Tantrism of Abhinavagupta in non-dual Shaivaismus of Kashmir; Paul Eduardo Muller-Ortega, p. 1
  38. ↑ a b Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, pp. 44–54
  39. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, p. 32
  40. ↑ John R. Dupuche: Abhinavagupta: the Kula ritual, as elaborated in chapter 29 of the Tantraloka . 1st edition. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 2006, ISBN 81-208-1979-9 , pp. 6 (English).
  41. ↑ Īśvara Pratyabhijñā Kārikā of Utpaladeva, Verses on the Perception of God; BN Pandit, p. 34
  42. ↑ Triadic Mysticism, Paul E. Murphy, page 13
  43. ↑ Luce dei Tantra, Tantraloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, 1999
  44. ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi
  45. ↑ Para-trisika-Vivarana, Jaideva Singh
  46. ^ Abhinavagupta's Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, Boris Marjanovic
  47. ↑ Hymnes de Abhinavagupta: Traduits et comments, Lilian Silburn
personal data
SURNAME Abhinavagupta
ALTERNATIVE NAMES अभिनवगुप्त
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian philosopher, mystic and esthete
DATE OF BIRTH around 950
DATE OF DEATH 1020