The Triadic Heart of Śiva

The Triadic Heart of Śiva
Author: Paul E. Muller-Ortega
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2010-03-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1438413858

This book explores one of the most explicit and sophisticated theoretical formulations of tantric yoga. It explains Abhinavagupta's teaching about the nature of ultimate reality, about the methods for experiencing this ultimate reality, and about the nature of the state of realization, a condition of embodied enlightenment. The author uncovers the conceptual matrix surrounding the practices of the Kaula lineage of Kashmir Shaivism. The primary textual basis for the book is provided by Abhinavagupta's Parātrīśikā-laghuvṛtti, a short meditation manual that centers on the symbolism of the Heart-mantra, SAUḤ.

Territory of Desire

Territory of Desire
Author: Ananya Jahanara Kabir
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2009
Genre: History
ISBN: 0816653569

A result of territorial disputes between India and Pakistan since 1947, exacerbated by armed freedom movements since 1989, the ongoing conflict over Kashmir is consistently in the news. Taking a unique multidisciplinary approach, Territory of Desire asks how, and why, Kashmir came to be so intensely desired within Indian, Pakistani, and Kashmiri nationalistic imaginations.

Kashmir

Kashmir
Author: Chitralekha Zutshi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2018
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107181976

This collection of essays discusses the less well-known aspects and areas of Kashmir on the seventieth anniversary of Indian independence.

Shaiva Devotional Songs of Kashmir

Shaiva Devotional Songs of Kashmir
Author: Constantina Rhodes
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 212
Release: 1987-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780887064920

Utpaladeva was considered a siddha, a "perfected being," one of the masters of the tantric tradition in Kashmir, and he is best known for his philosophical treatises. The Shivastotravali reflects Utpaladeva's philosophy, known as the Pratyabhijna school. And yet it is unique among the author's works in its not being a straightforward philosophical treatise but instead, as Dr. Bailly points out in her introduction, more of a spiritual diary of one who is actually treading the path of Shiva. The path that Utpaladeva has chosen does not require leaving one's home and heading for a mountain cave; instead it calls for changing one's view of the world, for leading a life of divine recognition while carrying on with ordinary life. In clearly written, lucid prose Dr. Bailly illuminates the many facets of Utpaladeva's quest. At the core of his spiritual journey is the enigmatic relationship between devotion and grace: how much does spiritual attainment depend upon the individual's efforts, and how much is a divine gift? And how are these to be realized while living in the midst of society, maintaining worldly obligations and lifestyle? For over a thousand years the Shaiva community of Kashmir has used in its worship the hymns of Utpaladeva's Shivastotravali. Here for the first time these hymns are presented in translation as English verse along with the Sanskrit, a clear and lively introduction, two appendices on special aspects of Kashmir Shaivism, and additional notes.