Tantrasara Of Abhinava Gupta

THE KASHMIR SERIES OF

TEXTS AND STUDIES.

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THE

TANTRASARA OF

ABHINAVA GUPTA. Edited with notes by

MAHAMAHOPADHYAYA PANDIT MUKUND

RAM

SHASTR1,

Offlcer-in-Cliarge Eeseaxcli Department,

JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE, SRINAGAR, Published under the Authority of the Government of His Highness Lieut.-General Maharaja

Sir

PRATAP SINGH SAHIB BAHADUR, Q. C. S.

I.,

Q. C.

I.

E.,

MAHARAJA OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE,

BOMBAY: PRINTED AT THE 'NIRNAYA-SAQAR' PRESS,

1918.

PK 313/ ft

51

-..-

%

808994

f .

(All rights reserved). Printed by Ramchandra Yesu Shedge, at the 'Nirnaya-sagar' Press, 23,

Kolbhat Lane, Bombay.

Published by Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Shastri for the Research Department,

Mukund Ram

Jammu

and Kashmir State, SR1NAQAR.

t

i

V

II

^

II

PREFATORY. Before introducing the reader to the most abstruse and technical contents of this philosophical work I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to the

owners of the manuscripts which have been made the main bases of this edition of the Tantrasara, appearing for the first time as volume XVII of the Kashmir Series of Texts and Studies. there were three manuscript copies used in preparation of this work for the Press. The first of

In

all

these belonging to RajanakaSodarshana of Srinagar consisted of 72 leaves of Kashmiri paper written in Sharada

a copy was made in this office. It is a transcript of another older manuscript and bears 1903 anno Vikrami (1846 A.D.) as the date of its trans-

characters,

cription.

and of

this

As regards omissions and mistakes

it is,

how-

ever, not free from blemishes.

The second manuscript copy with which the above was collated belongs to the collection of books bearing on the Shaiva philosophy in general which one Rivat!

Raman

of Southern India got copied during his visit to On his for acquisition of rare manuscripts.

Kashmir

death here in Kashmir these books fell into the hands of his servants, and from one of them I bought this

my personal use. characters and of 48 leaves consists Devanagiri of old Kashmiri paper. Three more leaves which this

manuscript copy of the Tantrasara for It is

in

manuscript seems to have contained are generally incorrect

The

and

full

lost.

It is

of omissions.

and the most useful manuscript copy of was the one presented to me at Agra in A brief history of its acquisition would not

third

the Tantrasara

1912 A. D. be out of place.

It is as old as

ing to the Laukika era 4603,

1527 A. D., correspond-

and

consists of 79

leaves

PREFATORY,

II

It Kashmiri paper. belongs to the books which one Manmohan Chandra of Srinagar received as a heritage from his ancestors. During the tenor of the Emperor Shah Jahan the great Moghul's reign the aforesaid Manmohan Chandra left

of

old

very

collection of

Kashmir

for Dehli and, rinding favour at the

down

Emperor's

Of the

precious books of Manmohan Chandra's only about one fifth were available when in 1895 A. D. on my visit to Agra I saw them settled

Court,

there.

of preservation with the widowed wife of Kidar Nath, the source of all this information, being

in a

state

through her husband's side, one of the relatives of Narayan Chandra, a descendent of Manmohan Chan-

When

dra.

I revisited

this

city

in 1912, the

widow-

ed wife of Kidar Nath who had no male issue by her deceased husband, found the further preservation of the few remaining books a burden and willingly

me way

presented them to

some

in the sanguine or the other.

hope of

Of

their

the Tantrasara written on very old Kashmiri paper in Sharada characters is bound in one cover with ten more utility

books. 1

in

these

them appear

to have been copied by one Krishna Swami, as stated by himself at the end of Mahanaya Prakash, one of the books of this collection, in two Shlokas which run thus:

All of

and the same

scribe,

:

II

I

:

II*

Janma Marana Vichara; (b) Amaraugha Shasan; (d) Kama-kala-Vilas; (e) Vatula (c) Mahanaya Prakasha; Natha Sutra Vritti (f) Munimata Vartikam, (g) Bhavopahara1.

(a)

;

stotram Savivaranam, (h) Spanda Vivriti by Ram Kantha, A jada Pramatri Siddhi, (j) Spanda Vritti by Kallata. (i)

PREFATORY. It is generally

notes.

It

has been

correct

made

Ill

and abounds

in marginal

the principle basis in prepa-

ration of this edition.

At the same time that

among

it is

a great pleasure to

me

to say

the Pandits of this Department Rajanaka assisted me in going through the

Maheshvara who

my

proofs, has

thanks.

Last though not least

acknowledge the with which the Proprietor,

I gratefully

promptitude and efficacy Nirnaya-Sagar Press, Bombay, carried this work through the Press.

But in

it

policy Literature

is

the Kashmir Durbar to whose liberal

matters of research into ancient

every credit is due in books of this Department. literary

Dated

i SEINAGAR, Wth Nov. 1918. }

Sanskrit

bringing out the

-MAHAMAHOPADHYAYA, PANDIT MUKUND BAM SHASTRI.

Officer I/O

Research Department,

Jammu and Kashmir

State.

ABSTRACT. The

the Supreme Self or God Himself, but with the only difference of being enwrapped with the veil of ignorance resulting from Mala or imindividual self

is

purity (classified under three heads, viz. Anava or littleness or limitation as regards self-knowledge; Maylya or that caused by illusion; and Karma being the outcome of our deeds, good or

ill ).

That the individual self should realise himself as the Supreme Self, the All-powerful Lord ( Parama Shiva ), who is beyond time and space, dwelling in all beings but unaffected withal, like a crystal reflecting various hues, sets forth in Agama Shastras or revelations of divine authorship what is called Jnana or knowledge of oneself as the Supreme Self. With the obtainment

Mala

of Jfiana the trammels of

as

alluded

to above

of the divine light

on the

Shaivagama coming under the category of

Agama

are cut asunder

individual

by dawning

self.

Shastras forms a short cut towards the approach of Advaita Jnana or knowledge of the Supreme Self (

Parama Shiva

)

as identical

with that of the individual

self.

Just as the renaissance of the Vedanta system of Philosophy was brought about by the great expounder of the system, Shankara, generally known as Shankara -

charya, in exactly the same

Advaita Shaivagama owes ceptor,

manner the exposition

of the

credit to the great pre following in every minute

all its

Abhinava Gupta, who

down in the Malinivijaya of Shaivagama, composed the of Tantraloka which, as the name im-

detail the principles as laid

Tantra, a leading

voluminous work plies, is

work

a cyclopaedia of Shaivagama.

Considering the

v

ABSTRACT.

volume of the Tantraloka

as onerous to less assiduous

generations the aforesaid Abhinava is called Gupta epitomised the contents thereof in what In a discourse. the Tantrasfira, the subject of our out the prelude to the Tantrasara the author points necessity of the work in a verse which runs thus: of

people

later

u'

In stating the aims of the book the author adds: 3^f^r:
It will

be interesting for the reader to

know

that

work

lays down two ways by which the individual self can realise how he is identical with the

the present

Supreme 1

Self.

"My

One way

Tantraloka

is

leads to this

end irrespective

much voluminous and

as such its

be trying to people of less assiduous thorough study habits. The Tantrasara which is an epitome of the Tantraloka will

will

on a small

scale be as

useful to

the

reader

as

the

latter work."

2

"Ignorance

worldly trammels. in

the Shastras.

Supreme

is

said to be verily the cause of all been termed as Mala or impurity

It has

With

Self such

Mala

the knowledge of oneself as the is reduced to nothing, and the

stage thus arrived at is called Moksha or freedom from miseries caused by Mala. I expose the means for obtaining

such Moksha in this Shastra.

Herein the reader will find a

brief explanation of the Tattvas or principles, the

whereof

is

indispensable for Self-realisation."

knowledge

VI

ABSTRACT.

of the performance of religious rites and ceremonies, while the other constitutes the three Upayas or means

Shambhava, Shakta and Anava ) based respectively on Ichchha, Jnana and Kriya Shaktis of the Supreme

(

In this connection the author adds

Lord.

This book

:

divided into 22 ahnikas (ahnika, the work done in a day ) and for the signifying literally reader's facility the author finishes each ahnika or is

chapter by one shloka, giving therein a gist of his detailed discourse. For the reader's information a very brief

summary

The

of the 22 ahnikas first

is

given below

:

treats of the various kinds of Vijnana

or

the highest knowledge.

The second shows how by stability of meditation on the significance of the all-important word, Aham, the individual self can realise his oneness with the Supreme

Self.

The third emphasises the Shambhavupaya means for attainment of the highest Bliss.

The

way

fourth dwells

upon the Shakhtupaya

the

as the

leading to the same goal. 1

"The All-knowing Lord,

Himself,

as

it

were,

Who is All-complete, suffers

be enveloped by Maya (illusory the form of the Jiva or individual

to

power ) and appear in and to enable this Jiva to recognise

self

as

his

identity with

the Supreme Self brings to light the path of Jiiana in the three ways named above."

ABSTRACT. In the

fifth

VII

the author deals with the

Anavupaya

giving a detailed account of the functions of the Prana and the Apana, the two vital spirits of the body, in the

form of recitation of prayers, postures of the body and contemplation of mind.

The sixth contains an elaborate description of the Kaladhva or the significance of Kala or time, beginning from the second, the minute, the hour, the night, the day, the tithi ( time from one moon-rise to another moon-rise ), the month, the year, in short up to the Maha Pralaya ( dissolution of the whole universe ) as based on the working of the Prana, and shows thereby the

way

of recognition.

The seventh shows how by

stability of meditation significance of the Tattvas, ( viz. from Prithvl Tattva to Shakti Tattva ), enwrapped as they are with

on the

the five-fold aspects of Parama Shiva's power and glory

Shanta and Shantyatlta and on the relation existing between them and the Nivritti, Pratishtha, Vidya,

Kalagni-Rudra and other representatives of the Lord's supremacy as also on the extent etc., of all the Bhuvanas, the individual self can realise oneself as the Supreme This is known as kaladhva. Self.

The

eighth deals with the

way

of contemplation on

how by attainknowledge therein, the vision of the Highest Reality dawns on the mind of the individual self.

the above-mentioned Tattvas and shows ingperfection

of

In the ninth the forms of all the Tattvas, taken one by one, are described and it is distinctly stated that stability of meditation thereon is the way to recognition of oneself as

Parama

The tenth

Shiva.

describes the three ways Padadhva, Mantradhva and Varanadhva as penetrable in Kaladhva referred to above, and laying special stress on their relation with the Lord's five-fold power and glory, points out the means for Self-knowledge.

ABSTRACT.

VIII

In the eleventh

it

has been decidedly shown that

the benevolence of Parama Shiva

is necessary for one to which is another way for attainment of Moksha by means of knowledge of the

become worthy of

initiation

Highest Reality.

The twelfth deals with the ordinances of bathing, so to speak, in divine waters, as preliminary requisites of initiation. The

thirteenth ascertains

ency of a certain tion as also

of

means

as to test of effici-

termed "Samayi", for initia"Dlksha Yajna" or rites connected

disciple,

therewith.

The

fourteenth likewise subjects to examination name "Putrak" and prescribes the

another disciple by

various courses of initiation which he must go through as a preliminary measure.

The fifteenth contains the"Samut Kramana Diksha", or initiation, by his descendants, for one about to die but desirous of being initiated by grace of the Lord. The

who

sixteenth shows the

way

of initiation for

him

Such

inidead or missing in another country. tiation can alone be made by the special grace of his guru or preceptor. is

enjoins how a man of another redenomination ligious can, if he so desire, be initiated in Shaivaism after being freed from his former belief.

The seventeenth

The eighteenth formulates the way initiate

in

which an

can obtain the position of a guru.

The nineteenth initiated but

beyond

his control, as also initiation,

the other

may

ordains re-initiation for one already having apostatised under circumstances

who may

on

his

death,

for

be desirous of obtaining this end but

die before accomplishment of his heartfelt desire.

IX

ABSTRACT.

The twentieth

lays

down

the various

religious

ordinances for an initiate, such as recitation of the Mantras, study of the Scriptures, redemptions for regulation of his conduct, adoration of his guru etc., etc.

The

twenty-first proves how among the Shastras is to be looked upon as an authority.

the Shaivagama

The twenty-second enunciates the external forms of

"Kula

and modes of

internal

Yajfia" or the special

worship towards the Highest Reality.

Mahamaheshvara Abhinava Gupta, the author of this

work,

But

as, in his

is

silent as to the

great

date of

its

composition.

work Tantraloka, he often quotes

from

Tshvara Pratyabhijna Vimarshin!, which, he himself says, was written by him in the year 4115 of the Kali age, corresponding to 1014 A. D., it follows

former was composed after the year 1014 Now the date of composition of the Tantrasara

that the

A. D.

which is an epitome of the Tantraloka must necessarily be some time later than 1014 A. D.

As

to the lineage of Abhinava Gupta and a brief history of his age as well as of his literary activity, as recorded by himself in his Tantraloka and other books,

the reader's attention

is

invited to

my

introduction on

Para-Trimshika, forming volume XVIII of

SRINAGAR,

KASHMIR, The 20th Nov. 1918.

^

i )

this Series.

Mahamahopadhyaya, PANDIT MUKUND RAM SHASTR!. Officer

I/O Research Department,

Jammu

and Kashmir

State.

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Abhinavagupta, Rajanaka The Tantrasara of Abhinava Gupta