Abhinavagupta 1st introductory verse / different translations (original) (raw)
Related papers
Some selected Excerpts from Abhinavagupta
For quite some time (in fact long time) a conviction has been growing in me that the great Indian thinkers (quite a few at least, if not all) need to be explored and appreciated beyond horizons of their known classical affiliations. As such this assortment of a few sayings of Abhinavagupta as appearing below, by way of a small step in that direction, is primarily intended to give a direct feel of the mind of one of the greatest geniuses of mankind till this day. Abhinava was an extremely prolific author, hence it was not possible to cover all his writings. This selection is confined to only a tiny section of his vast literature. The guiding principle behind this exercise, which is simply indicative and in no case exhaustive, has been to showcase Abhinavagupta as a philosopher per excellence with timeless appeal and contemporary ethos.
Abhinavagupta The Vyaakhyakaara for Today
Abhinavagupta is not only a traditional interpreter of the classical texts. He is an example par excellence of a great interpreter who reconciled the conflicting strands of thought prevalent in his age to create a unified vision based on metaphysical, epistemological and aesthetic principals. We need to eliminate the present cacophony on the Indian literary and philosophic scene caused by the conflicting values of traditional poetics and darshanas with the invading theories of the West such as critical theory, moral relativism and Wokeism. We need the sweeter strains of a modern Indian theory which affirms both aesthetic taste and moral values. Abhinava's methodology and reasoning can be a beacon light for us today.
Journal of Indian Research, Vol. 1, Number 4 (October: December 2013): 1-24. Abhinavagupta (ca. 975-1025 C.E.) is the greatest synthesizer of Indian Tantric thought and practice. His works influenced and shaped theoretical paradigms in the field of Indian aesthetics, Tantra, literature, and philosophy. In this paper, the author examines the 105 verses of Abhinavagupta’s Paramārthasāra (Quintessence of the Highest Purpose) in which Abhinavagupta articulates his philosophy of absolute monism, known popularly as Kashmir Śaivism. An earlier Paramārthasāra was composed by the South Indian legendary saint, diśeṣa during the sixth century, some four hundred years before Abhinavagupta. Abhinavagupta’s reinvention of this older text indicates the constant transaction of ideas between Kashmir and South India, Vaiṣṇavite and Śaivite sects. The present shape of Indian thought emerged only as a result of the fusion and appropriation of different thought-streams. A translation of the Paramārthasāra along with an introduction into Abhinavagupta’s Monistic Śaivism has been herewith attempted.
Like a Bee to Nectar: Abhinavagupta's Poetics of Religious Formation
Journal of Dharma Studies, volume 3, Issue 2, pp. 373-387, 2020
Through a study of Abhinavagupta’s deployment of the metaphor of a bee in search of nectar, this article reconstructs a model of religious education implicit in Abhinavagupta’s representation of his own career as a student and guru. Based on a brief examination of the symbolism of the bee in classical Sanskrit poetry, the article elucidates how Abhinavagupta creatively implements prominent themes in this trope. Abhinavagupta’s use of the bee motif powerfully evokes his own liberal engagement with the intellectual culture and religious worlds of medieval Kashmir, and this educational ideal arguably carries prescriptive force for a qualified and sensitive audience. In considering the bee imagery across Abhinavagupta’s corpus, one encounters a vision of revelation that invites students to relish an all-encompassing truth present in all traditions as their essence, like a fragrance permeating a flower.