Abstract
In the celebrated tantric manual, the Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta (fl.c. 975–1025 CE) and his commentator Jayaratha (fl.c. 1225–1275 CE) establish a non-dual Śaiva theory of reflection (pratibimbavāda) (3.1-65) using the key metaphors of light (prakāśa) and reflective awareness (vimarśa). This paper attempts to explain the philosophical problem of reflection from the standpoint of these non-dual Śaivas. It also evaluates the problem in its hermeneutical context, analysing multiple layers of meaning and interpretation. Is the metaphor of reflection only a way of explaining the particular currents of the Śaiva phenomenology represented by the concepts of prakāśa and vimarśa? What philosophical problem does Abhinavagupta seek to solve by complicating the category of reflection and giving it a quasi-paradoxical status? Why does he use the model of the subtle elements (tanmātras) to explain the theory of reflection? What does the ‘untaintedness (nairmalya) of the mirror of consciousness’ mean for his system? These questions form the focus of this paper.
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Abbreviations
- ĪPK:
-
Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā → TORELLA 2002
- ĪPV:
-
Īśvarapratyabhijñāvimarśinī
- ĪPVB:
-
Bhāskarī
- ĪPVV:
-
Īśvarapratyabjijñāvivṛttivimarśinī
- KSTS:
-
Kashmir Series of Texts and Studies
- MVUT:
-
Mālinīvijayottaratantra
- NT:
-
Netratantra
- NTU:
-
Netratantroddyota
- PHṛ:
-
Pratyabhijñāhṛdaya
- PS:
-
Paramārthasāra
- PSV:
-
Paramārthasāravivṛti
- PTV:
-
Parātriśikāvivaraṇa
- SBUM:
-
Svabodhodayamañjarī → TORELLA 2000
- SN:
-
Spanda-nirṇaya
- ŚS:
-
Śivasūtra
- ŚSV:
-
Śivasūtra-vārttika
- SvT:
-
Svacchandatantra
- SvTU:
-
Svacchandatantrodyota
- TĀ:
-
Tantrāloka
- TAK III:
-
Tantrābhidhānakośa III → RASTELLI and GOODALL 2013
- TĀV:
-
Tantrālokaviveka
- TS:
-
Tantrasāra
- TU:
-
Tantroccaya
- VBV:
-
Vijñānabhairava-vivṛti
- VM:
-
Vāmakeśvarīmata-vivaraṇa
- YS:
-
Yogasūtra
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr Francesco Sferra, Dr Shaman Hatley and the anonymous reviewer of JIP for their valuable comments and suggestions that helped in improving this article.
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Kaul, M. Abhinavagupta on Reflection (Pratibimba) in the Tantrāloka. J Indian Philos 48, 161–189 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-019-09414-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-019-09414-0