XVIII. The Paramarthasara of Abhinava-Gupta

L. D. Barnett

doi:10.1017/S0035869X00040016

XVIII. The Paramarthasara of Abhinava-Gupta

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011

L. D. Barnett

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IN my “Notes on the Śaiva Siddhāntam”, published last year in Le Muséon, I called attention to the fact that the living faith of the majority of modern Tamils is in almost every respect, and certainly in all essentials, the same doctrine that was taught in Kashmir about the beginning of the eleventh century by Abhinava-gupta; and I endeavoured to indicate what, in my opinion, the links are which join the modern theology of the South to the ancient teachings of the North, and ultimately to the school which is represented by the Śvetāśvatara Upanisad. In further illustration of this view I now present the Paramārthasāra of Abhinava-gupta.

Type: Articles
Information: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , July 1910 , pp. 707 - 747

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00040016 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1910

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^{page 708 note 1} This prelude is given in A only.

^{page 709 note 1} So B; abhibhāṣate A, perhaps rightly.

^{page 709 note 2} So B and its commentary; vibhālvitam A, which may be a conjecture, and is unmetrical. This form of metre in the second half of the āryā verse appears again in vv. 10, 16, 17, 21, 32, 35, 47, 49, 53, 57, 65, 73, 76, 77 (?), 79, 80, 90, and 99.

^{page 709 note 3} The MSS. usually write vicittra, cittra.

^{page 709 note 4} Gṛhītāp° B.

^{page 709 note 5} Sthiṃ A.

^{page 709 note 6} So B; adṛśo A.

^{page 709 note 7} So A; °manthare B and its commentary, corrected by a later hand to °makure. The commentary explains by darpaṇe.

^{page 709 note 8} So B; layo° A, which may possibly be right.

^{page 709 note 9} Thus B; °grāmādikaṃ vicitram A.

^{page 709 note 10} So B; anyonyam api tato A.

^{page 709 note 11} Jad A.

^{page 709 note 12} B perversely °daśān.

^{page 710 note 1} Thus A; °vaśād B. A omits the second syllable of rāgā°.

^{page 710 note 2} Aṇontar° A.

^{page 710 note 3} The metre is defective; perhaps we should supply at the end of the line yathā from the commentary.

^{page 710 note 4} So A; °mānaś B.

^{page 710 note 5} So B; karmīndriyāṇi A.

^{page 710 note 6} So B; viṣayaś ca A. Either may be right.

^{page 710 note 7} So B; iva ha A.

^{page 710 note 8} Svasvā° A; svaṃ sva° B.

^{page 710 note 9} A and B °buddhyeta. See Siddhānta-kaumudī, 54 f.

^{page 711 note 1} B °virāṭdehaj°; A virāḍātmaj°.

^{page 711 note 2} So B; veṣṭayante A.

^{page 711 note 3} So B and its commentary, with scholion of A; nāvṛtaṃ A.

^{page 711 note 4} So B and its commentary; snptāvasthā A, which seems the better reading, as it agrees more closely with the suṣupta to which the text refers.

^{page 711 note 5} B perversely °rajobhiḥ.

^{page 711 note 6} So A; anāitmany api B.

^{page 711 note 7} So B; nikṛtya A.

^{page 712 note 1} Bhrānti A.

^{page 712 note 2} So B and its commentary; paramaśivaḥ A.

^{page 712 note 3} B vibhrayug.

^{page 712 note 4} Jātu na B; na jātu A.

^{page 712 note 5} So B; °bhāvabalād A.

^{page 712 note 6} So B; °kuṇḍakaṭakaṃ A.

^{page 712 note 7} Yathā A and B; but it spoils the metre, and is unnecessary.

^{page 712 note 8} So B; sad A.

^{page 712 note 9} Parameśvare is a conjecture necessitated by the metre, and supported by the commentary of B; parameśe A, paramam text in B.

^{page 712 note 10} So A; °prasāraṇa° B. The line is unmetrical; perhaps we should read pañcaśaktiprathāprasaraṇa°.

^{page 712 note 11} So A and commentary of B; sarvaṃ text of B.

^{page 712 note 12} So B and its commentary; °vicittram iva suṣuptāt A.

^{page 712 note 13} So B; bhaveṣu A.

^{page 713 note 1} A and text of B 'pi kartāpi; commentary of B akartāpi.

^{page 713 note 2} So B and its commentary, with scholion of A; redāntā° A.

^{page 713 note 3} So B and commentary; mohanīṃ A.

^{page 713 note 4} Thus B and its commentary; laye A.

^{page 713 note 5} Thus B; iha vidyām A.

^{page 713 note 6} B °āgalā°.

^{page 713 note 7} So A and commentary of B; karmyāpi text of B.

^{page 713 note 8} So B and commentary; °dīdhitiḥ A. The preceding line is defective; perhaps we should read 'sya syāj, as the commentary suggests.

^{page 713 note 9} So B and its commentary; śocayati A.

^{page 713 note 10} So A; yathá na prarohasam° B, against metre.

^{page 714 note 1} Hi omitted in A.

^{page 714 note 2} So B and its commentary; bhavati A.

^{page 714 note 3} So B; sarvamuttīrṇab° A.

^{page 714 note 4} B dikkādākalanav°; A dikkālakalāa°, dikkālādikalana° scholion.

^{page 714 note 5} Thus A and commentary of B; sap° text of B.

^{page 714 note 6} B °vicaranaikak°.

^{page 714 note 7} So B and its commentary; °vidhiṣu vedasam A.

^{page 714 note 8} Vibuddhyeta the MSS.; see note on v. 25.

^{page 714 note 9} So B and commentary; saṃsāre A.

^{page 714 note 10} Tat, given in A, is omitted in text of B (which reads na saphalam iti), but apparently recognized by its commentary.

^{page 714 note 11} A °ghātalakṣaṇāṇi; B °ghātakalakṣyāni.

^{page 715 note 1} So A; na tasya B, against metre.

^{page 715 note 2} A vyatiktam.

^{page 715 note 3} Kiñcana ca A; B omits the first two syllables.

^{page 715 note 4} So A; B °kṛtirvaṣaṭkaḥ.

^{page 715 note 5} So A; atha B.

^{page 715 note 6} Paramātmā° B, for which read paramātma°, which is supported by its commentary; A reads paramārtha°, and inserts ca after the compound.

^{page 715 note 7} So B; °dīptī A.

^{page 715 note 8} So A; eva hi B, against metre. The reading of the rest of the line given above is uncertain, both A and B reading saṅkalpalikhita°. For the form saṅkalpana cf. v. 19; and on the metre of the line see note on v. 10.

^{page 715 note 9} Omitted in B.

^{page 715 note 10} So B; samāna A, which may be right.

^{page 715 note 11} So B; yaś A.

^{page 715 note 12} So B and its commentary; asti A.

^{page 715 note 13} B spells the word here, and elsewhere often (e.g. v. 86), tiṣṭati.

^{page 716 note 1} Sarvatmānaṃ A.

^{page 716 note 2} Nirupap° A.

^{page 716 note 3} A °pekṣaḥ instead of kṣepaḥ.

^{page 716 note 4} So A; tadvad atra B.

^{page 716 note 5} A °kalpika°, the second k being erased.

^{page 716 note 6} Upādhe A.

^{page 716 note 7} So A; saṃvedanaṃ B, with the commentary, against metre.

^{page 716 note 8} Thus A; B reads muktām upādyantaraśūnyam ivābhāti, and its commentary gives upādhyantaraśūnyam api and ābhāti.

^{page 716 note 9} Prāptaḥ A; both forms are good.

^{page 716 note 10} So B (which also writes tasmiṃn), while its commentary gives pāpamayīṃ rā sthitiṃ; A has pāpām avanthitām.

^{page 716 note 11} Vidaḥ B in text. The defective metre is perhaps to be corrected by omitting tadā.

^{page 716 note 12} A has °pakṣa°.

^{page 717 note 1} So B; °saṃskṛtāṃ A.

^{page 717 note 2} So A; °maye text of B.

^{page 717 note 3} So A; śvāsāk° B. Both A and B give cchedaḥ.

^{page 717 note 4} So B; °lābhotsuke A.

^{page 717 note 5} So rightly A, supported by commentary of B; paramārgam enaṃ hy anyasyāprāpya text of B.

^{page 717 note 6} Surloka° A.

^{page 718 note 1} Nihṛd° A.

^{page 718 note 2} This colophon is given in A only. The latter MS. adds the following verse:—

abhinavarūpā śaktis tadgupto yo maheśvaro devaḥ |

tadubhayayāmalarūpam abhinavaguptaṃ śivaṃ vande ¶

To scan this we must read °rūpaṃ as two long syllables, as sometimes occurs in Buddhist works.

^{page 719 note 1} Vīraṇāchārya in the Śiva-jñāna-pradīpike, Bhoja-deva in the Tattva-prākaśikā, and other Āgamik writers thus explain the cosmic process. The Supreme Śiva in His highest sphere of being exists as Śiva-tattva with his Śaktis or Powers in suspension, as in the periods of cosmic dissolution. Among these Powers is the Bindu, also called Great Māyā, Pure Māyā, Vāg-īśvarī, Para-vidvā, Kuṇḍalinī, Kuṭilā, Speech-element, (Śabda-tattva), Speech-Brahma (Sabda-brahma), etc. The Bindu (literally the nasal sign upon the mystic syllable Om) is the germinal source of cosmic differentiation; it is abstract inanimate matter (śuddha-jaḍātmikā), mechanically associated with Śiva (vartamāna-parigrahe), whereas the Parā Śaktiḥ or combination of the Powers of Thought, Bliss, Will, Knowledge, and Action is essentially related to Him (samavetā). The other Powers of the Supreme Śiva stir the Bindu into the potentiality of cosmic existence, as the presence of the sun causes the lotus to open; this state of being constitutes the Śakti-tattva. Next emanates from the Bindu the Sadāśiva-tattva, without any change in the equipoise of the Powers of Knowledge and Action in the Supreme; then follows the Īśvara-tattva, when the Power of Action predominates over that of Knowledge; then that of Pure Knowledge, in which the condition of the Powers is reversed. See below on v. 14. The Bindu is thus the material cause whence arise the six adhvans or formless material beings, i.e. the varṇādhvan or elemental syllables from to , the padādhvan or eighty-one mystic words framed of them, the mantrādhvan or spells, the bhuvanas or worlds, the kalādhvan, and the Tattvas mentioned above. The first three adhvans form the Vedas and Agamas or scriptures. To the Hindus, as to the Greeks, spoken thought and intelligence are the same, logos; hence ideas and their names are identified, and ideas themselves are imagined to be centres of thought-activity; cf. v. 11. The five kalās are forces which by their presence cause the thirty-six Tattvas to assume their specific characters; cf. the Kala of gross Māyā mentioned on v. 17.

^{page 720 note 1} Māyā is matter in the true sense, distinct from the “Pure Māyā” or Bindu, from which it is derived.

^{page 723 note 1} Creative ideas and mystic forces of intellection, such as the varṇas, padas, and mantras, arising from the Bindu or Śabda-tattva; see note on v. 4, above.

^{page 723 note 2} See on v. 74.

^{page 725 note 1} It should be noted that Time, Determination, Necessity, Passion, and Knowledge, forming Nos. 30–26 of the Tattvas, are successively evolved from Māyā (see on v. 4). The Āgamik writers derive kalā from kal in the sense that it “sweeps away” in part the defilement attaching to souls, and thus enables them to exercise their natural powers of knowledge and action so as to undergo finite experience and thus consume their karma. In this function Determination is the primary factor, and Time and Necessity subordinate to it. It lastly begets Knowledge, which reveals to the soul the materials of perception, viṣayas.

^{page 726 note 1} On this classification cf. the commentators on Sāṃkhya-sūtra, I, 67, and Śaṃkara on Brahma-sūtra, II, iv, 6; iii, 22.

^{page 727 note 1} According to this enumeration Puruṣa (the soul in the “Five Cloaks”) is the 25th tattva; Nature (prakṛti), 24th; Buddhi, 23rd; Ahaṃkāra, 22nd; Manas, 21st; the organs of intelligence, 20th–16th; the organs of action, 15th–llth; the Tanmātras, 10th–6th; the gross elements from ether to earth, 5th–lst.

^{page 730 note 1} This is defined as consisting of Buddhi, Manas, Ahaṃkāra, and the five Tanmātras; the Tattva-prakāśikā adds the five gross elements and the organs of intelligence and action (see Parvateśa's Kannada translation, v. 12).

^{page 731 note 1} These three Vedantic conditions are equated with the Nos. 31–3 of the Śaiva Tattvas. The “waking state” corresponds to the condition of Impure Māyā (No. 31), “dreaming sleep” to that of “Pure Knowledge” (No. 32), “dreamless sleep” to that of Īśvara (No. 33), and the Fourth to that of Sadāśiva (No. 34); see above, v. 14.

^{page 740 note 1} Properly the word is a derivative from bhīru, root bhī, “to fear.” Śiva is styled Bhairava in His aspect as cause of dissolution of the universe.

^{page 744 note 1} Sahakārībhāvaṃ kāraṇatvam, says the Comm. A “cause”, kāraṇa, is that which necessarily precedes its effect (Tarka-saṃgraha, 38).

^{page 746 note 1} Cf. Yoga-sūtra, ii, 53; iii, 1; Deussen, , Allg. Geschichte d. Philosophie, I, iii, p. 568Google Scholar.

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