Abhinavagupta (c. 950 - 1020 [1] [2] ) - Indian philosopher , mystic and author of works on aesthetics . He studied music, wrote poems, plays, interpretations on ancient texts , was a theologian and logician [3] [4], and had a strong influence on Indian culture. [5] [6] .
| Abhinavagupta | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 950 |
| Place of Birth | Kashmir , India |
| Date of death | 1020 |
| Place of death | Kashmir , India |
| Direction | Kashmir Shaivism |
| Core interests | |
| Influenced | Bhutiraja |
Born in Kashmir [7] in a family of scientists and mystics, he studied philosophy and art for fifteen years. [8] After himself, he left more than 35 completed works, the most famous of which is Tantraloka (an encyclopedic treatise on all the philosophical and practical aspects of the teaching known today as Kashmiri Shaivism , Trika and Kaula ). He made an important contribution to the philosophy of aesthetics (clarification of the comments of Abhinavabharata to Natyashastra Bharata Muni ). [9]
Content
The genius of his time
The name "Abhinavagupta" was not his original name, most likely it is a title that bears the meaning of "competence and authority." [10] [11] Analyzing the meaning of this name, Yayaratha [12] (one of the most significant commentators on Abhinavagupta) also shows three more meanings: “be vigilant”, “be present everywhere” and “protected by praise”. [13] Raniero Gnoli, the only Sanskritologist who completed the translation of Tantraloku into the European language, mentions that “Abhinavagupta” also means “new,” [14] which may indicate the novelty of his mystical experience. From Yayaratha we learn that Abhinavagupta possessed all six qualities required to achieve the highest mystical experience in Shaktopaya , as described in the sacred texts of Sripurvashastra : [15]
- undaunted faith in God
- the implementation of prayers
- management of reality through appeal to 36 tattvas ,
- successful completion of all actions taken,
- poetry and creativity
- and direct knowledge of all disciplines. [sixteen]
The works of Abhinavagupta are well balanced between the branches of the triad ( Trika ): ichha (will), jnana (knowledge) and kriya (action), which was manifested in his religious hymns, philosophical works, [10] in the description of methods related to yoga. [10] He restored, rationalized, and organized philosophical knowledge in a more consistent form, [17] based on all available sources of his time.
Various modern scholars characterized Abhivanagupta as: “a brilliant scholar and saint,” [18] “the founder of the development of Kashmiri Shaivism” [18] and “a brilliant practitioner of yogic practices.” [ten]
Life
Miraculous Birth
The terms by which Abhinavagupta himself defines the conditions of his birth: "conceived by a yogini from a yogi in a yogic way." [10] [19] In Kashmir Shaivism, it is believed that he was an avatar of Bhairava , [20] and possessed an exceptional spiritual and intellectual level. Such a child should be a “repository of knowledge” of one whose form “the child has in the womb” - “the form of Shiva”, [13] which served as one of the signs of his divinity.
Parents
The parents of Abhinavagupta came from noble Brahman families, they were deeply devoted to the service of God and had great scholarship. His mother Vimala (Vimalakala) died when Abhinavagupta was only two years old; [21] [22] the loss of his mother, to whom he was very attached, [15] strengthened his estrangement from the world and led to a greater focus on the spiritual. His father Narasimhagupta after the death of his wife led an ascetic lifestyle, raising three children. He was highly educated and had a “heart full of devotion to Maheshwara ” [21] (in the words of Abhinavagupta). His father was his first teacher, dealing with him grammar, logic and literature. [23]
Family and devotees
Abhinavagupta had a brother and sister. Brother Manorata was an ardent supporter of Shiva. [24] His sister Amba devoted herself entirely to serving the deity after the death of her husband. His cousin Karna, even in his youth, was imbued with the ideas of Shaivism, having deeply known their essence. His wife was apparently the older sister of Abhinavagupta Amba. [25] Amba and Karna had a son Yogishvaridatta, which means a person who has achieved great success in yoga [26] (yogishvar is literally “master of yoga”).
Abhinavagupta also mentions his disciple Ramadeva as sincerely devoted to spiritual studies and his teacher. [25] Another cousin was called Kshem, perhaps he is the distinguished disciple of Abhinavagupta Kshemaraj . Mandra, Karna’s childhood friend, was the master of the suburban estate where Abhinavagupta often lived. He was not only rich and pleasant in communication, but also an adherent of knowledge. [27] Both he and his aunt Watashika were mentioned with great gratitude by Abhinavagupta, as they took care of him with great care, and he received financial assistance from Watashika, which allowed him to do his work calmly. [28] Thanks to his entourage, Abhinavagupta was able to complete such a grandiose work as Tantraloka.
Works
The works of Abhinavagupta are varied in content: manuals for the performance of religious rituals, religious hymns, philosophical and aesthetic works [9] .
Religious and philosophical works
| Tantraloka | The Light of Tantra | The most significant of the works of Abhinavagupta; It is a synthesis of the whole Tric system. The only translation into European is the translation into Italian by Raniero Gnoli. |
| Tantrasara | The essence of tantra | It is a prosaic version of Tantroloki, in addition to which there are two more shorter versions: Tantrochaya and Tantravatadhanika (Seed of Tantra). |
| Githarthasangraha | “The collection of meanings of the Gita ” | Commentary on the Bhagavad-gita . |
| Paratrishika Vivarana | “ Commentary (to) Paratrishike ” | Commentary on a fragment from the Rudrayamal Tantra (36 stanzas), known as Paratrimshika. The central theme of this work of Abkhinavagupta is the mantra as a particular and the whole metaphysics of speech in general. |
| Malini Vijaya-Vartika | It is a commentary on one of the most important tantras of Kashmir Shaivism. | |
| Kavia Kautuka Vivarana | ||
| Paramarthasara | ||
| Ghatakharaparakulak-vivvritti | ||
| Purva pancha | ||
| Mahopadesa-vimsati | ||
| Parmarthadwadashika | ||
| Brihat-ishvara-pratyabhijna-vritti Ishwara-pratyabhijna-vimarsini-laghvi-vritti Ishvara-pratyabhijna-vriti-vimarsini Ishwara-pratyabhijna-vimarshini | One of the most important philosophical treatises of Abhinavagupta, in which he describes the provisions of one of the schools of Kashmir Shaivism - Pratyabhijna . |
Religious hymns
Abhinavagupta composed many religious hymns, most of which were translated into French by Liliane Silbern: [29]
| " Bodhapanchadashika " | bodhapañcadaśikā | “Fifteen verses of wisdom” |
| Paramarthacarcha | paramārthacarcā | "Discussion of the Supreme Reality." |
| Anubhavanvedana | anubhavanivedana | “Anthem of the offering of experience” [30] . |
| Anuttarashtika | anuttarāṣṭikā | "Eight stanzas to the [ goddess ] Anuttar." |
| " Krama-stotra " | krama-stotra | "Praise of Krama." |
| Bhairava-stava | bhairavastava | “Praise of Bhairava ” [30] . |
| " Dehasthadevatachakra-stotra " | dehasthadevatācakra-stotra | “Anthem to the Wheel of Divinity, which Lives in the Body” [30] . |
| " Paramarthadvadashika-stotra " | paramārthadvādaśikā-stotra | “The Twelve Verses of Supreme Reality.” |
| " Mahopadesa-vimsatika " | mahopadeśa-viṃśatikā | “Twenty stanzas of great knowledge.” |
| Sivashaktyavinabhava-stotra | śivaśaktyavinābhāva-stotra | “The hymn of the inseparability of Shiva and Shakti” ( lost ). |
| Anuttara Shataka | ||
| " Prakrana-stotra " | ||
| Bhairava Stotra |
Aesthetics, poetry and dramatic works
| Abhinabharati | Abhinavagupta's most important work on the philosophy of art; it is a long and complex commentary on the Natya-sastram of Bharata Muni . This work, having developed the theory of race (aesthetic feeling), continues to be significant for Indian art and aesthetics to this day. | |
| Locana | "Eye" | Commentary on the famous work “Dhanyalok” (“The Light of Dhwani”) by the Kashmiri poet, theorist and commentator Anandavardhana. In it, Abhinavagupta develops the ideas of Anandavardhana, who formulated the doctrine of dhwani (letters, “overtones”) - subtle, hidden semantic figures of poetic speech, which, according to Anandavardhana himself, are “the soul of poetry”. |
| Dhvanyaloka Locana | ||
| " Natya Locana " | ||
| Bharata-Natya-Sastra-Tika |
Notes
- ↑ Triadic Heart of Shiva, Paul E. Muller-Ortega, page 12
- ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 27
- ↑ Re-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 4
- ↑ Key to the Vedas, Nathalia Mikhailova, page 169
- ↑ The Pratyabhijñā Philosophy, Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare, page 12
- ↑ Companion to Tantra, SC Banerji, page 89
- ↑ Doctrine of Divine Recognition, KC Pandey, page V
- ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 35
- ↑ 1 2 Luce dei Tantra, Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, page LXXVII
- ↑ The Krama Tantricism of Kashmir; Navjivan Rastogi, page 157
- ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 92
- ↑ 1 2 The Kula Ritual, As Elaborated in Chapter 29 of the Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta; John R. Dupuche, page 4
- ↑ Luce dei Tantra, Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, 1999, page 3
- ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 21
- ↑ Re-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 8
- ↑ 1 2 Īśvara Pratyabhijñā Kārikā of Utpaladeva, Verses on the Recognition of the Lord; BN Pandit, page XXXIII
- ↑ Luce dei Tantra, Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, page 3
- ↑ Re-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi page 2
- ↑ 1 2 Luce dei Tantra, Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, page 4
- ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 31
- ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 30
- ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 22
- ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 23
- ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 25
- ↑ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 26
- ↑ Hymnes de Abhinavagupta: Traduits et comments, Lilian Silburn
- ↑ 1 2 3 Sanskrit translation: Erchenkov, Oleg Nikolaevich
Links
- Mention of some texts of Abkhinavagupta in the library of the Yoga Monastery “Collection of Secrets”
- Muktabodha Online Library (unavailable link from 05/19/2013 [2281 days] - history ) - the original texts of Abkhinavagupta in Sanskrit , including Tantraloka
- Abhinavagupta. "Paratishika Vivarana" Fundamentals of the theory of mantras. The metaphysics of sound according to the treatise. ISBN 5-93980-014-9