The ubiquitous Śiva: Somānanda's Śivadr̥ṣṭi and his tantric interlocutors

John Nemec examines the beginnings of the non-dual tantric philosophy of the famed Pratyabhijña or "Recognition [of God]" School of tenth-century Kashmir, the tradition most closely associated with Kashmiri Shaivism. In doing so it offers, for the very first time, a critical edition andannotated translation of a large portion of the first Pratyabhijña text ever composed, the Sivadrsti of Somananda. In an extended introduction, Nemec argues that the author presents a unique form of non-dualism, a strict pantheism that declares all beings and entities found in the universe to befully identical with the active and willful god Siva. This view stands in contrast to the philosophically more flexible panentheism of both his disciple and commentator, Utpaladeva, and the very few other Saiva tantric works that were extant in the author's day. Nemec also argues that the text waswritten for the author's fellow tantric initiates, not for a wider audience. This can be adduced from the structure of the work, the opponents the author addresses, and various other editorial strategies. Even the author's famous and vociferous arguments against the non-tantric Hindu grammarians maybe shown to have been ultimately directed at an opposing Hindu tantric school that subscribed to many of the grammarians' philosophical views. Included in the volume is a critical edition and annotated translation of the first three (of seven) chapters of the text, along with the correspondingchapters of the commentary. These are the chapters in which Somananda formulates his arguments against opposing tantric authors and schools of thought. None of the materials made available in the present volume has ever been translated into English, apart from a brief rendering of the first chapterthat was published without the commentary in 1957. None of the commentary has previously been translated into any language at all. Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Abbreviations 10 PART I: Introduction to the Translation 14 1. Introduction 14 2. About This Book 16 Somananda’s Works and His Biography 25 3. The Author and His Works 25 4. Somananda’s Biography and Autobiography 32 The Author’s Thought and the Intellectual History of the Pratyabhijna 38 5. Somananda’s “Settled Opinion” (siddhanta) 38 6. Divergences Between the Writings of Somananda and Utpaladeva 44 7. The Use of Trika and Technical Terminology in the Śivadrsti 52 8 The Influence of the Trika VBh on the Śivadrsti 57 Somananda’s Tantric Interlocutors, and the Philosophy of the Grammarians 64 9. The Tantric Post-Scriptural Schools and Authors Known to Somananda 64 10. The Śivadrsti and the Spanda School 66 11. Krama Influence on the Śivadrsti 69 12. Somananda and the Saiva Siddhanta 71 13. The Śivadrsti and the Philosophy of the Grammarians 72 14. Bhatta Pradyumna and His Tattvagarbhastotra 80 15. Conclusions: Somananda’s Sivadrsti and the Emergence of the Pratyabhijna 89 About the Edition and the Translation 92 16. The Manuscripts of the Śivadrsti 92 17. About the Edition 95 18. About the Translation 104 PART II: The Translation 110 Chapter One of the Śivadrsti and Śivadrstivrtti: Śiva and His Powers 112 Chapter Two of the Śivadrsti and Śivadrstivrtti: The Arguments against the Grammarians 159 Chapter Three of the Sivadrsti and Sivadrstivrtti: The Arguments against the Saktas 224 PART III: The Edition 286 Chapter One of the Śivadrsti and Śivadrstivrtti 288 Chapter Two of the Śivadrsti and Śivadrstivrtti 317 Chapter Three of the Śivadrsti and Śivadrstivrtti 363 Bibliography 410 Alphabetical Index of the Half-Verses of ŚD 1–3 430 Index of References to the IPK and IPVr 440 Index of Key Authors, Terms, and Textual References 444 A 444 B 444 C 445 D 445 E 445 F 445 G 445 H 445 I 445 J 446 K 446 L 446 M 446 N 447 P 447 R 448 S 448 T 449 U 449 V 449 W 449 Y 449 John Nemec examines the beginnings of the non-dual tantric philosophy of the famed Pratyabhija or "Recognition [of God]" School of tenth-century Kashmir, the tradition most closely associated with Kashmiri Shaivism. In doing so it offers, for the very first time, a critical edition and annotated translation of a large portion of the first Pratyabhija text ever composed, the Sivadrsti of Somananda. In an extended introduction, Nemec argues that the author presents a unique form of non-dualism, a strict pantheism that declares all beings and entities found in the universe to be fully identical with the active and willful god Siva. This view stands in contrast to the philosophically more flexible panentheism of both his disciple and commentator, Utpaladeva, and the very few other Saiva tantric works that were extant in the author's day. Nemec also argues that the text was written for the author's fellow tantric initiates, not for a wider audience. This can be adduced from the structure of the work, the opponents the author addresses, and various other editorial strategies. Even the author's famous and vociferous arguments against the non-tantric Hindu grammarians may be shown to have been ultimately directed at an opposing Hindu tantric school that subscribed to many of the grammarians' philosophical views. Included in the volume is a critical edition and annotated translation of the first three (of seven) chapters of the text, along with the corresponding chapters of the commentary. These are the chapters in which Somananda formulates his arguments against opposing tantric authors and schools of thought. None of the materials made available in the present volume has ever been translated into English, apart from a brief rendering of the first chapter that was published without the commentary in 1957. None of the commentary has previously been translated into any language at all. John Nemec examines the beginnings of the non-dual tantric philosophy of the famed Pratyabhijña or'Recognition [of God]'School of tenth-century Kashmir, the tradition most closely associated with Kashmiri Shaivism. In doing so it offers, for the very first time, a critical edition and annotated translation of a large portion of the first Pratyabhijña text ever composed, the Sivadrsti of Somananda. In an extended introduction, Nemec argues that the author presents a unique form of non-dualism, a strict pantheism that declares all beings and entities found in the universe to be fully identical with the active and willful god Siva. This view stands in contrast to the philosophically more flexible panentheism of both his disciple and commentator, Utpaladeva, and the very few other Saiva tantric works that were extant in the author's day. Nemec also argues that the text was written for the author's fellow tantric initiates, not for a wider audience. This can be adduced from the structure of the work, the opponents the author addresses, and various other editorial strategies. Even the author's famous and vociferous arguments against the non-tantric Hindu grammarians may be shown to have been ultimately directed at an opposing Hindu tantric school that subscribed to many of the grammarians'philosophical views. Included in the volume is a critical edition and annotated translation of the first three (of seven) chapters of the text, along with the corresponding chapters of the commentary. These are the chapters in which Somananda formulates his arguments against opposing tantric authors and schools of thought. None of the materials made available in the present volume has ever been translated into English, apart from a brief rendering of the first chapter that was published without the commentary in 1957. None of the commentary has previously been translated into any language at all. John Nemec examines the beginnings of the non-dual tantric philosophy of the famed Pratyabhijna or "Recognition [of God]" School of tenth-century Kashmir, the tradition most closely associated with Kashmiri Shaivism. In doing so it offers, for the very first time, a critical edition and annotated translation of a large portion of the first Pratyabhijna text ever composed, the Sivadrsti of Somananda. In an extended introduction, Nemec argues that the author presents a unique form of non-dualism, a strict pantheism that declares all beings and entities found in the universe to be fully identical.;Cover; Abbreviations; Part I: Introduction to the Translation; Part Ii: The Translation; Part Iii: The Edition; Bibliography; Alphabetical Index of the Half-Verses of Sd 1-3; Index of References to the Ipk and Ipvr; Index of Key Authors, Terms, and Textual References. I: Introduction To The Translation -- Somānanda's Works And His Biography -- The Author's Thought And The Intellectural History Of The Pratyabhijñā -- Somānanda's Tantric Interlocutors, And The Philosophy Of The Grammarians -- About The Edition And The Translation -- Ii: The Translation -- Chapter One Of The Śivadr̥ṣṭi And Śivadr̥ṣṭvr̥ttii: Siva And His Powers -- Chapter Two Of The Śivadr̥ṣṭi And Śivadr̥ṣṭvr̥ttii: The Arguments Against The Grammarians -- Chapter Three Of The Śivadr̥ṣṭi And Śivadr̥ṣṭvr̥ttii: The Arguments Against The Saktas -- Iii: The Edition -- Chapter One Of The Śivadr̥ṣṭi And Śivadr̥ṣṭvr̥ttii: -- Chapter Two Of The Śivadr̥ṣṭi And Śivadr̥ṣṭvr̥ttii: -- Chapter Three Of The Śivadr̥ṣṭi And Śivadr̥ṣṭvr̥ttii. John Nemec. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. In English And Sanskrit (romanized); Includes Translations From Sanskrit. This book examines the beginnings of the non-dual tantric philosophy of the famed Pratyabhijna or ''Recognition'' School of tenth-century Kashmir. It includes a critical edition and annotated translation of chapters 1-3 of Somananda's Sivadrsti, the first Pratyabhijna text ever composed, along with the corresponding passages of Utpaladeva's commentary, the Sivadrstivatti. This book examines the beginnings of the non-dual tantric philosophy of the famed Pratyabhijña or ''Recognition'' School of tenth-century Kashmir. It includes a critical edition and annotated translation of chapters 1-3 of Somananda's Sivadrsti, the first Pratyabhijña text ever composed, along with the corresponding passages of Utpaladeva's commentary, the Sivadrstivatti. Edition und Übersetzung der ersten 3 Kapitel von Somānandas Śivadṛṣṭi