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The notion of maximal greatness is arguably part of the very concept of God: something greater than God is not even possible. But how should we understand this notion? The aim of this paper is to provide a Śaivist answer to this question by analyzing the form of theism advocated in the Pratyabhijñā tradition. First, I extract a model of divine greatness, the Hierarchical Model, from Nagasawa's work Maximal God. According to the Hierarchical Model, God is that than which nothing could be greater by virtue of being better suited than all other beings in relation to certain great-making properties (§1). I then offer an analysis of the form of theism advocated in the Pratyabhijñā tradition by discussing passages from the works of Somānanda, the founder of the Pratyabhijñā school, and of Utpaladeva, the most prominent of Somānanda's disciples. I argue that the Pratyabhijñā theist cannot account for divine greatness in terms of the Hierarchical Model. My argument is that the Hierarchical Model requires a comparison between God and other beings that cannot be made with the Pratyabhijñā God (§2). Finally, I develop an original alternative model, the Unlimited Nature Model, that accounts for God's maximal greatness in a way that suits Pratyabhijñā's theism. According to the Unlimited Nature Model, the nature of all ordinary beings is metaphysically limited as a result of realizing only a small portion of the potential of what could be, and God is maximally great because only he has a completely unlimited nature (§3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kongu country was known to the ancient people of Tamil Nadu as a separate territorial entity. It played an essential role in the context of its relationship with the neighbouring regions. The Saiva Saints like Thirunavukkarasar, Tiruganasambandar and Sundaramurti Nayanar highlighted the seven Saiva temples in the Kongu region. Their hymns are based on a poetic composition called Devaram. The study of inscriptions from these seven Saiva temples can be corroborated with literary evidence, which gives a graphic description of the region, the social condition, numerous customs, and traditions. Tamil land was divided into five central territorial divisions: Chera Nadu, Chola Nadu, Pandya Nadu, Thondai Nadu, and Kongu Nadu. Tolkappiyam mentions the three divisions of Kongunadu, Cheetham, panic, and malanadu, while purananuru refers to Kongunadu as a separate division. These sources confirm that the kongunadu had flourished separately for several centuries. This paper aims to trace the spread of Saivism and Lord Shiva Worship in the Kongu country from a historical perspective. The Kongu country enjoyed a premier position in the history of Saivism due to the fact that the people of the country and the ruler had extended their patronage to the Saiva religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is one more attempt of understanding the non-dual philosophical position of Abhinavagupta viz-a-viz the problem of reflection. Since when my first essay on 'Abhinavagupta on Reflection' appeared in JIP, I have once again focused on the non-dual Śaiva theory of reflection (pratibimbavāda) (3.1-65) as discussed by Abhinavagupta (fl.c. 975-1025 CE) in the Tantrāloka and his commentator Jayaratha (fl.c. 1225-1275 CE). The present attempt is to understand their philosophical position in the context of Nyāya realism where a reflection is simply caused by an erroneous apprehension of an entity. For Naiyāyikas, according to both Abhinavagupta and Jayaratha, a reflection (pratibimba) does not have a real existence at all. There are only two ways of looking at a reflection: it can either simply be an original image (bimba) or an illusion (bhrānti). There is no scope for any third entity apart from something being an error or a non-error. In contrast to this, establishing a Śaiva theory of reflection, Abhinavagupta is corroborating a valid ontological status for the seemingly illusory objects of perception or imagined objects, such as, to use Abhinavagupta's own language, 'an elephant with five trunks and four tusks who is running in the sky'. In other words, he is pleading for the valid cognition of objects which are otherwise deemed to be an error or external to consciousness. While Abhinavagupta's system has generally been referred to as 'idealism', I argue that by establishing the dynamism of reflective awareness that is deemed to be absolutely real, his system should be referred to as 'dynamic realism' i.e., the 'dynamism' that is common to both 'real' and 'ideal'. This is why he uses the metaphor consciousness-as-mirror (ciddarpaṇa) in establishing a non-erroneous ontological status for otherwise illusive idea of reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The myth of Kauṇḍinya has had a profound impact on the writing of Southeast Asian history, being used by historians in the early twentieth century to explain how the earliest kingdoms in the region were formed. However, the myth as we know it today has been constructed from fragments of information found in Sanskrit epigraphy and Chinese textual sources from three distinct time periods. Using a form of textual analysis first described by Michel Foucault under the heading of ‘archaeology’, this article attempts to isolate and examine the nature of the myth within each time period, as if uncovering distinct layers of an archaeological excavation. I have tried to show how each version of the myth is indelibly a product of its own time, drawing its significance from the religious, social and literary context in which it was recorded. In particular, while revealing elements of continuity and discontinuity in the transition of the myth, it also highlights important events in the transmission and reception of religious ideas and practice that may be connected to the wider themes of dynamics and stability in religious studies.

Tolkappiyam is the basic source of Tamil literature. Tolkappiyam's writing, rhetoric and materiality form the basis of the Tamil language and grammar. Terminology in the language also tells about modes of action in semantics through grammar. The Alwars and Nayanmars through their eloquence sang Tirupathikams and expounded them through Saiva and Vaishnava sects. One can get to know the mythological stories, the structures of the temples, the hymns of the Alwars and the inscriptions of the Nayanmars. The shrines in Ranipet district can be learned through the book “Thondai Nattu Tirupathikam”. In the history of the Thondai region, the life of Ilandrayan, and the reason for the name of Alwars are detailed. Saivism means the principles of the Shiva cult and glorifies the incarnation of Lord Shiva. The songs of the chief three Saiva nobles were compiled by King Rajaraja Chola through Nambiandar Nambi. Saiva scriptures are rendered mainly by Thirunnasambandar, Thirunavukarasar and Sundarar. It is possible to know that the news and books about Saiva Siddhanta have been published in the books of Na. Subbu Reddiar. The Alwars and Nayanmars who lived in the Thondai region used to go to the shrines, perform tirupanis, preach Thirunama and pray to Thiruperuman Shiva. It can be known that they worshipped, performed pujas and preached beneficial messages to the people with Thirunamam of Lord Shiva. Vaishnava and Saiva incarnations are glorified in the Thondai region. The glory of the Spiritual Alwars, Nayanmars and the kings and the special features of the temples can be learnt from Subbu Reddiar's books.

The author analyses the change in the Tamil Śaiva bhakti concept of corporeality showing that understanding the body of a bhakta as the main obstacle to connecting with the body of Śiva based on the attitude of rejecting one's corporeality has much in common with Buddhist and Jain ideas about the body. Therefore, the main task of the bhakta was to liberate from his body, its elimination or transformation (remelting the physical body as an impure body, as an obstacle body on the way to union with God). They solved this task in various ways, including various practices of ecstatic behaviour and self-harm. The concept of kaya siddhi put forward by Tirumūlar is the idea of a perfect body, potentially immortal and homologous to the body of Śiva. He also formulated and developed sophisticated techniques for using the physical body of a sādhaka as the primary tool for achieving liberation based on yoga techniques and working with the mind of an adept. The result achieved was presented in the description of Tirumūlar's own mystical experience. As a result, he achieved the state of the super material body of yoga-deha , the ideal of which is the manifest body of Śiva as Naṭarāja. The new iconography of Naṭarāja formed in the visionary insights of bhaktas, who described their darśans in their hymns. Then it became the basis for forming a new iconology of Naṭarāja and the cult of images of the bhaktas themselves embodied in the intensive temple construction of the Chola Empire. In combination with new ritual practices, the Tamil philosophy of Śaivism had formed as a tripartite religious and philosophical canon of Śaiva Siddhānta. This canon included the poetic canon of Śaiva bhakti (Paṉṉiru Tirumuṟai), the agamic temple ritual, and 14 philosophical treatises of Śaiva Siddhānta (Meikaṇṭar Shastras).

The Skandapurāṇa is one of the many textual sources that narrates Viṣṇu's manifestation myths. It tells the stories of Narasiṃha (Man-Lion), Varāha (Boar) and Vāmana (Dwarf) in its own distinctive way. The greatest innovation is the addition of thus far unprecedented sequels to the stories. Whereas Śiva played a minor role, or no role at all, in the narratives as they were known at the time of composition of the Skandapurāṇa, he becomes indispensable in the "afterlife episodes" of the manifestation myths. Each afterlife episode follows the same structure, in which Viṣṇu is unable or unwilling to give up his manifested form. He is liberated from it by Śiva, who subsequently grants Viṣṇu a boon as a reward for his deeds and devotion to Śiva. From a Śaiva perspective, the boons become grander each narrative: first, Viṣṇu receives the important cosmic task in the Śaiva universe of destroying the gods' enemies, then he formally joins the Pāśupata Śaiva community by performing the Pāśupata observance, and finally, he reaches union with Śiva, i.e., liberation from the continuous cycle of rebirth, by performing another Pāśupata observance. By introducing "the principle of end weight", I will argue that this radical, new identity of Viṣṇu is expressed at a strategic place in the narrative, viz. at the very end, which is the part that is remembered most vividly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient Daśapura was the site of an internally complex Śaiva religious community. The Aulikara rulers used Śaivism as a political idiom to celebrate military might and royal power. Their ministers, the Naigamas, promoted an irenic vision that praised Śiva as a source of protection and prosperity. Attention to those expressions of Śaivism enable us to contextualize one of Daśapura's most famous, yet enigmatic, works of art: an ithyphallic male figure depicted with a double phallus (ca. sixth c. ce). To date, the sculpture has remained impossible to place within the greater artistic landscape of the region. This study proposes a resolution by showing that the icon was conceived as part of a triad of sculptures that included Śiva's wife, Pārvatī, and their son, Skanda. The images of Śiva and Skanda are displayed at the Bhopal Museum, and while their similarities have been noted in previous studies, they have not been viewed as part of a set. The reason for this is their separation from an unpublished Pārvatī that currently is displayed in the Mandasor Archaeological Museum and identified as a yakṣī. When viewed as part of a triad, the double-phallus figure is transformed from an iconographic puzzle into an innovative visual strategy to reconcile what might seem opposing facets of a divine persona—that is, the ascetic and the family man. By presenting these icons as a "family portrait," this study recontextualizes important works of art from early India and initiates broader considerations of the political and religious ideologies that inspired their production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is located in a lesser-known educational context and investigates aspects of migration, religion and multilingualism. Focusing on the discourse of second-generation adolescent migrants in a Tamil Hindu temple school in urban Australia, I discuss how flexible language practices manifest in this migrant faith setting. I argue that the use of the heritage language is not always at the forefront, despite a monolingual Tamil language policy, because religious transmission is given priority over language transmission. At the same time, there are certain motivations that influence the use of Tamil: to index the close relationship between language and religious culture and to index one's membership of the ethnoreligious community. This paper draws on ethnographic data to provide both a macro and micro view of these motivations – what drives adolescents to use their heritage language, how it is deployed from their linguistic repertoires, and how it contrasts with the use of the students' dominant language, English. The analysis takes a whole of conversation approach to understanding the relationship between religion and heritage language use for second-generation migrant students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the great scriptures of the Hindus, the Āgama (also known as the Tantra) and the Nigama, a synonym of Veda, (and the etymology is NigamyateanenaitiNigamaḥ) are considered to be the most sacred and reliable. Among them the earlier, Āgama, is basically a sādhanaśastra, the Science of Self-realization. Both Āgama and Nigama have their own divisions and sub-divisions. Like other branches of knowledge, the Agama tradition, itself, is vast, complex, divided into several schools and sub-schools in all the three streams of Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava and ŚāktaĀgamas. The Śaiva literature is extensively known by its familiar division of Kashmir Śaivism and ŚaivaSiddhānta. The Svāyambhuvāgma belongs to the ŚaivaSiddhānta stream and is the 13th major text among the 28 Mūlāgama-s. Here in this paper, I wish to explore the ideas and interesting information found in the Svāyambhuvāgama.

Believing that "all the world's a stage" exemplifies using theater as a metaphor for life, also known as a dramaturgical perspective (DP). This project examines DPs in two historical contexts -- contemporary psychological research, and the work of medieval Indian philosopher and literary theorist Abhinavagupta. Recent psychological research suggests that viewing oneself as "acting out a part" protects against social threats, but can simultaneously be alienating. Abhinavagupta posits that recognizing performativity can aestheticize life in a way that offers freedom from reified notions of self and other. This divergence suggests that DPs are entwined with cultural contexts. To test this, we examined the association of cultural orientations with responses to the DP among US emerging adults (N = 1146). Cultural variables were associated with DP endorsement, and with a key component of associations between DP endorsement and distress: feelings of inauthenticity. The discussion focuses on salient socio-cultural dimensions of DP operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces and analyzes the Gurustutiratnāvalī , a sophisticated eighteenth-century Sanskrit hymn composed by Govinda Kaula of Kashmir in praise of his teacher's teacher, the prolific author Sāhib Kaula. It evaluates the evidence for Govinda Kaula's dating, lineage, and literary activity and presents the first published edition and translation of select verses of his Gurustutiratnāvalī based on four manuscripts. The analysis of the hymn focuses on the ways the author equates a specific guru in his lineage—Sāhib Kaula—with the supreme deity Śiva. Using this hymn as a starting point, the article considers the history of guru-praise (gurustuti) and guru-devotion (gurubhakti) in Kashmir as well as in South Asia more broadly. Lastly, it suggests that further work on this lineage and the religious dynamics of the eighteenth and nineteenth century will prove crucial for helping us understand the emergence of what came to be popularly known as "Kashmir Śaivism." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of the Vijayanagar kingdom in the 14th century A.D. was inter alia due to the universal desire that fell all over south India among all classes of Hindus to protect their dharma against their enemies. The fragmentary character of Vijayanagar politics could be ameliorated but not overcome, by any administrative structure as long as the lordship itself continued to be segmentary. The Vijayanagar rulers subdued the enemies of Hinduism, the alien rulers. When the second Pandya royal authority was displaced in the the16th century by that of Vijayanagar commanders and other military adventurers from Andhra and by petty Marava chieftains and during the period of disorder and confusion that the southern region continued to be controlled by the Brahmanas and Vellalas. The rulers of Vijayanagar were staunch Hindus and they always encourage the Hindu religion in several ways. Under their rule, both Saivism and Vaishnavism flourished. Vaishnavism was the most popular religious sect of Hindus during the reign of the Vijayanagar rulers. The Vijayanagar rulers, who acted as the custodians of Dharma, not in the pragmatistic but the larger sense of the term lived up to this Hindu ideal. The liberal religious spirit of the Vijayanagar emperors has generally been attributed to the influence of the eminent Advaita philosopher Madvacharya. The ruler of Vijayanagar also gave protection not only to Muslims but also to Christians. The Vijayanagar rulers accorded a warm welcome to the Missionaries. The Vijayanagar rulers proved themselves to be noble example of the spirit of toleration and the policy of equal treatment of all subjects by recruiting Muslims into their army and giving them responsible positions. The Vijayanagar rulers encouraged the construction of dargahs. They endeavored to maintain amicable relations with their Muslim neighbours when Ramaraya last one of his sons, his wife adopted Ali Adil Shah as her son. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Skandapurāṇa is one of the many textual sources that narrates Viṣṇu’s manifestation myths. It tells the stories of Narasiṃha (Man-Lion), Varāha (Boar) and Vāmana (Dwarf) in its own distinctive way. The greatest innovation is the addition of thus far unprecedented sequels to the stories. Whereas Śiva played a minor role, or no role at all, in the narratives as they were known at the time of composition of the Skandapurāṇa, he becomes indispensable in the “afterlife episodes” of the manifestation myths. Each afterlife episode follows the same structure, in which Viṣṇu is unable or unwilling to give up his manifested form. He is liberated from it by Śiva, who subsequently grants Viṣṇu a boon as a reward for his deeds and devotion to Śiva. From a Śaiva perspective, the boons become grander each narrative: first, Viṣṇu receives the important cosmic task in the Śaiva universe of destroying the gods’ enemies, then he formally joins the Pāśupata Śaiva community by performing the Pāśupata observance, and finally, he reaches union with Śiva, i.e., liberation from the continuous cycle of rebirth, by performing another Pāśupata observance. By introducing “the principle of end weight”, I will argue that this radical, new identity of Viṣṇu is expressed at a strategic place in the narrative, viz. at the very end, which is the part that is remembered most vividly.

This article, divided into two parts, traces and discusses two pairs of analogies invoked in Sanskrit(ic) literature to articulate the paradox of God's oneness and multiplicity vis-à-vis the souls and the manifest world, reflecting the philosophical positions of pariṇāmavāda (and bhedābheda/dvaitādvaita or, in some cases, viśiṣṭādvaita) and vivartavāda (and abheda/advaita). These are, respectively, the analogies of fire in wood and dairy products in milk, and moon/sun in pools of water and space in pots. Having introduced prevalent ideas about the status of the supreme principle(s) vis-à-vis the souls and creation in Śaivism, Sāṅkhya, and Vedānta, and having investigated instances of the first pair of analogies in multiple textual genres in Part I, here I turn to the discussion of the second set of analogies. Having proposed that the first set reflects the influence of pariṇāma-Vedānta on an early strand of the Śaiva textual corpus, I argue that the second set, attested prevalently in relatively late sources, betrays a (post-)Śaṅkarian origin (even if it was used in a pariṇāma-sense), thereby suggesting a vivartavāda-Advaita Vedānta influence on the Śaiva corpus after the 9th or 10th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, divided into two parts, traces and discusses two pairs of analogies invoked in Sanskrit(ic) literature to articulate the paradox of God's oneness and multiplicity vis-à-vis the souls and the manifest world, reflecting the philosophical positions of pariṇāmavāda (and bhedābheda/dvaitādvaita or, in some cases, viśiṣṭādvaita) and vivartavāda (and abheda/advaita). These are, respectively, the analogies of fire in wood and dairy products in milk, and moon/sun in pools of water and space in pots. In Part I, having introduced prevalent ideas about the status of the supreme principle(s) vis-à-vis creation in Śaivism, Sāṅkhya, and Vedānta, I investigate instances of the first pair of analogies in multiple textual genres, and especially in Śaiva literature from South and Southeast Asia, to highlight the influence of pariṇāma-Vedānta on the Śaiva textual corpus. Arguing that the distribution of the two pairs of analogies may cast some light on the relationship between different strands of dualistic and non-dualistic scriptures, I propose that the first pair could be traced back to the "formative" period of Śaivism—that is, prior to the emergence of the fully dualistic Śaiva Saiddhāntika corpus known to us. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The worship of Śiva as a deity was the dominant form of theistic and religious devotion which flowed through Kashmir to other parts of India from the first century BC. The Trika school is an idealistic, monistic, and theistic school of philosophy in Śaivism, that originated in the ninth century C.E. in Kashmir. The study attempts to elucidate the historical development of Trika school along with the idiosyncratic and unique philosophy of the school. The paper further endeavours to explain the enthralling development of this particular school which can best be understood from a religio-philosophical context. The study employs textual analysis and conceptual enquiry as the research method to analyse and present the development and distinct nature of the Trika school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religion is one of the most authoritative, prominent and universal forces in human society. It shapes how people behave and how they think about the sphere and their own place in it. There was immense religious diversity in the nineteenth century Punjab, which was marked by a rich variety of religious beliefs and practice in Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. Religious values influenced people's achievements, which in turn helped them to interpret their own experiences. The dominant forms of religious beliefs and practices, however, were those of the Hindus. The authority of the Vedas was recognized by the priests of nearly all Hindu sects: Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism. The most important forms of Muslim religious life were embodied in the beliefs and practices of the Sunnis, Shias and Sufis. Similarly, a large number of diverse religious identities were found among the Sikhs, some from an earlier period such as the Udasis and Minas and others from the modern era such as Nirankaris and Namdharis who flourished during the colonial period. This paper deals with the historical antecedents of the diverse religious identities found in the social landscape of 19th century Punjab. Understanding the status and space of these sectarian developments that emerged during 19th century and position of major sects has been examined in terms of their doctrinal or spiritual ideas and concepts, beliefs and practices as well as their socio-historical standing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a well-known fact that Sanskrit had a relatively shorter and less prolific lifespan in the epigraphy of Indonesia, particularly in the Javanese epigraphic record, than in that of other Southeast Asian regions. All the more precious, therefore, are the rare opportunities to add a Sanskrit inscription to the historical record of Java and learn more of how the Sanskrit language was deployed on the island to represent events recorded for posterity. In this article, I offer my edition and interpretation of the inscription referred to in Indonesian publications as Prasasti Sankhara (sic , with kh), that is, the Inscription of Śaṅkara ; debunk the entirely unfounded interpretation which it has received in successive reprints and editions of the greatly influential Sejarah nasional Indonesia (National history of Indonesia); and show the real historical interest of this inscription. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of interreligious patronage on the Indian subcontinent in the pre-modern period is best attested in royal inscriptions recording religious endowments. It is striking that most pre-Islamic Indian rulers patronised priests, monks, ascetics, and religious establishments of multiple faiths. The personal religious affiliations of the kings often contrasted remarkably with the patronage patterns followed by them according to the testimony of their epigraphs. The strongest indication for the individual confessions of rulers is given by the religious epithets among their titles. While the ambivalent relationship between the personal beliefs of the kings and their donative practices has been repeatedly described as an expression of Indian religious "tolerance" or of the specific character of Indian religious traditions, this paper emphasises that there were several reasons for the dichotomy. This will be investigated on the basis of the epigraphic material of the Maitraka dynasty, which ruled in Gujarat from the 5th to the 8th centuries. The article also contains an edition and translation of the hitherto unpublished Yodhāvaka Grant of Dharasena IV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On a trip to South India in the early 1850s, the German missionary Karl Graul collected a library of Tamil books. His library contains some of the first books that Tamils edited and published for Tamil audiences. This article analyses the Shaiva and Vaishnava works in this collection, arguing that in this early period of Tamil publishing, Tamil Hindus turned to print in part to counter Christian evangelisation. They edited and published texts previously transmitted on manuscripts, in order to build a corpus of Shaiva and Vaishnava printed books that would challenge the Christian monopoly of Tamil print. The article focuses on the editing activities and institutional affiliations of Tamil Shaiva editors, most importantly the prominent scholar Vedagiri Mudaliyar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there are overt philosophies of the person in both dualistic and non-dualistic Śaivism that developed their doctrines explicitly in relation to each other and to non-Śaiva traditions, especially Buddhism, many Śaiva texts exemplify what might be called a pre-philosophical discourse. Such works contain philosophical ideas but do not present systematic arguments (that is the job of later commentators) and are often regarded as divine revelation (namely the tantras but other genres of literature might also be included such as paddhatis). It is this layer of the articulation of concepts linked to practices that the paper exposes, which the arguments of the later philosophers reflect upon and from which they develop. The claim here is that through an analysis of pre-philosophical literature, texts such as the Netra-tantra, we can build a picture of the conceptual universe of the early medieval period that forms the basis for the development of thinking by the later philosophers. One way of doing this is through the micro-study of particular textual passages and from that to build a larger picture of pre-philosophical discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beginning of Jayaratha's commentary on Ruyyaka's Alaṃkārasarvasva contains a long digression on the nature of the goddess Parā Vāc, "Highest Speech," referred to in Ruyyaka's benedictory verse. This is an unusual choice in a text on poetics, and attention to Jayaratha's religious context reveals that the digression is based closely on Abhinavagupta's Parātrīśikāvivaraṇa, a tantric commentary. Jayaratha models his opening passage on this text in order to bolster an argument he wants to make about poetry, namely that poetry is the appearance of the goddess Highest Speech, who has split herself into both poet and reader in order to blissfully interact with herself. He does this, I suggest, in order to mark the discussion that will follow—an extremely detailed and polemical analysis of the nature and mechanisms of various rhetorical figures, with very little explicit theology—as a discussion that takes place squarely within a Śaiva universe, one which can only be fully understood in Śaiva terms even though, or perhaps precisely because, the language of theology is not necessary for analyzing any individual rhetorical figure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kapphiṇābhyudaya is a mahākāvya composed by Śivasvāmin in 9th century Kashmir. It represents a high point of the development of its genre. Once a prominent work, its study in modern times, particularly that of its more difficult parts, suffered because of the lack of a commentary. Finally, in the 1980s a manuscript of a commentary was discovered in Tibet, copies of which are now kept at the China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing. From these Ernst Steinkellner could prepare an ad hoc description in 2007. The present article's chief contribution is an edition and annotated translation of the two short transcribed passages contained in Steinkellner's description. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The five articles which make up this special issue of South Asia explore the role of the Ramayana in Sri Lankan art, literature, religious ritual and political discourse in shaping Sinhala Buddhist and Tamil Saiva perceptions of the island's distant past. Contributors work to answer the question as to when and how Sri Lanka came to be equated with the mythic 'Lankapura' of Valmiki's epic, exploring both positive and negative portrayals of Ravana (ruler of Lanka antagonist of the Ramayana) in Sinhala and Tamil literature from the late medieval period to the present day. Authors work to account for the politicisation and historicisation of the Ramayana in twenty-first century Sri Lanka (including similarities to and differences from the contemporary Indian situation), along with the appropriation of Ravana as a Sinhala Buddhist cultural hero, and the incorporation of Vibhishana as a 'guardian deity' in the Sinhala Buddhist pantheon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the identification of the island of Sri Lanka with the 'Lankapura' of Ramayana literary fame, tracing the transmission of the mythical geography of the epic from late medieval South India to Sri Lankan Tamil temple literature. The invading Cholas of the tenth century were the first to identify Sri Lanka as the 'Lanka' of the Ramayana, a geographical equivalence maintained by the Arya Cakravarti rulers who dubbed themselves 'guardians of Rama's bridge' (cētu kāvalan). I highlight the uniquely sympathetic treatment of Ravana by the Hindus of eastern Sri Lanka, and explore the likelihood that Tamil impressions of Ravana impacted his appearance in Sinhala Buddhist literature from the fifteenth century onwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the historiographical reception of Virasaivism as a monolithic religious identity in India. It examines an unstudied field of textual production in Sanskrit and Telugu during the period from the 12th century to the 14th century. The development of monastic institutions spanning from northern Tamil Nadu in the South to the Maharashtra-Karnataka border in the Northwest is discussed, as well as the engagement of Virasaivism with earlier forms of transregional Saivism.

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This article diachronically charts the distinctive soteriologies articulated in the earliest scriptures of the cult of Tripurasundarī, a popular trans-regional Śākta tradition, which was promulgated in south India as Śrīvidyā. First, I analyse contexts, beginning in the tenth-century CE, in which words for liberation (mukti and mokṣa) were discussed in the unpublished tantras of the antecedent Nityā cult and the Vāmakeśvarīmata, a foundational text of the cult of Tripurasundarī. Although these texts eulogised the transcendent aspect of the Goddess, they exhibited little interest in salvific practices. In contrast, the later Yoginīhṛdaya emphasised the soteriological meaning of practices, embracing internalised, meditative techniques dedicated to the realisation of liberation during one's lifetime (jīvanmukti), associated with non-dual Śaivism. I argue that the Yoginīhṛdaya built on the existing ritual and mantra system and developed it toward a sophisticated and robust doctrine by which adherents deepened the resilience and longevity of this ritual tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article makes the case that Vīraśaivism emerged in direct textual continuity with the tantric traditions of the Śaiva Age. In academic practice up through the present day, the study of Śaivism, through Sanskrit sources, and bhakti Hinduism, through the vernacular, are generally treated as distinct disciplines and objects of study. As a result, Vīraśaivism has yet to be systematically approached through a philological analysis of its precursors from earlier Śaiva traditions. With this aim in mind, I begin by documenting for the first time that a thirteenth-century Sanskrit work of what I have called the Vīramāheśvara textual corpus, the Somanāthabhāṣya or Vīramāheśvarācārasāroddhārabhāṣya, was most likely authored by Pālkurikĕ Somanātha, best known for his vernacular Telugu Vīraśaiva literature. Second, I outline the indebtedness of the early Sanskrit and Telugu Vīramāheśvara corpus to a popular work of early lay Śaivism, the Śivadharmaśāstra, with particular attention to the concepts of the jaṅgama and the iṣṭaliṅga. That the Vīramāheśvaras borrowed many of their formative concepts and practices directly from the Śivadharmaśāstra and other works of the Śaiva Age, I argue, belies the common assumption that Vīraśaivism originated as a social and religious revolution.

Much ink has been spilt on the status and rôles of the Devadāsī in pre- modern times, but some Sanskrit works that contain potentially useful nuggets of information have until now, for various reasons, been neglected. To cite one instance, some scholars have drawn passages about dancers from an edition of what purports to be a Śaiva scripture called the Kāmikāgama. In 1990 however, Hélène Brunner denounced that ‘scripture’, as a late-19th-century forgery concocted for the purpose of winning a legal case, and thereby called into question the value of the text as evidence for much of what it had to say about, for instance, the initiation of dancers in pre-modern times. Meanwhile, hiding, so to speak, in plain view, passages from a rather older Kāmikāgama, one that has been published by the South Indian Archaka Association and that appears to survive in many South Indian manuscripts, actually also contain information about the status of Rudragaṇikās in medieval times. But these seem not to have been examined to date by historians of dance and dancers. The purpose of this paper is to draw into the debate some hitherto unnoticed passages of relevance that are to be found in pre-modern Sanskrit texts.

My essay synthesizes, and elaborates on, previous research on the overlaps between performative arts and ascetic traditions of the Śaiva Atimārga in South and Southeast Asia. My analysis focuses mainly on textual data from Sanskrit and Old Javanese literature from the 4th to the 15th centuries, with contributions from modern and contemporary ethnography of Java and Bali. Here I will argue that categories of Śaiva practitioners who combined dance, recitation, and drama in both areas may derive from a shared tantric fund, and that those low-status agents characterized by antinomian behaviours were not only driven by ideals of individual salvation or quest for powers, but also contributed to their local social milieus (i.e. as ‘folk’ entertainers) and ritual economies (i.e., as performers attached to temples and royal palaces).

Appar Tirunavukkarasar Nayanar was one of the four Saivite spiritual teachers who succeeded in conjuring up a tangible or substantial image of Siva in the devotee's mind through poetry. This paper attempts to present a critical reading of the Hymns of Appar, Saivite saint by evaluating the representation of the popular Hindu deity Lord Siva in the hymns in relation to the Bhakthi poetry of the seventh century. The characteristic of religion often transposing onto literature and it's soundness in the case of Saivism, which animates Bhakthi poetry is another aspect explored in the paper. Even though Saivism, refers to the tradition which follows the teachings of Siva and which follows the deity Siva, or sometimes his consort and power, Sakti, the hymns of Appar are not just about religion, but are also vehement expressions of a culture and society as they are in a participatory medium and establish a contact between the devotees and Siva. Analysing the hymns in terms of the socio political situation in the backdrop, render concreteness to the image of Siva, who could be read as a powerful King loved by his subjects and praised by the bards in his court. The central aim of the paper is to demonstrate how the realistic iconography of the hymns facilitates the depiction of Siva as a Tamil heroic King and God, an ideal celebrated during the politically volatile Pallava period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper announces the first critical edition of Abhinavagupta's commentary (entitled Gītārthasaṃgraha) on the Bhagavadgītā in its Kashmirian recension, based on one Kashmirian Devanāgarī and seven Śāradā manuscripts in addition to two existing non-critical editions. The volume will also include a new edition of the Kashmirian recension of the Bhagavadgītā and a full French translation. After a short presentation of Abhinavagupta's commentary and a discussion of previous work on the subject, the manuscripts used are listed and briefly described. The question and importance of the Kashmirian recension of the Bhagavadgītā and problems of its edition are discussed in detail, with several textual examples. In order to give a sample of the Gītārthasaṃgraha's contents, some of Abhinavagupta's remarkable interpretations are also highlighted, in particular tantric or esoteric ones. An Appendix deals with the closely related question of Bhāskara the Vedāntin, his date, his provenance and the Gītā recension he probably used for his commentary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much ink has been spilt on the status and rôles of the Devadāsī in pre- modern times, but some Sanskrit works that contain potentially useful nuggets of information have until now, for various reasons, been neglected. To cite one instance, some scholars have drawn passages about dancers from an edition of what purports to be a Śaiva scripture called the Kāmikāgama. In 1990 however, Hélène Brunner denounced that 'scripture', as a late-19th-century forgery concocted for the purpose of winning a legal case, and thereby called into question the value of the text as evidence for much of what it had to say about, for instance, the initiation of dancers in pre-modern times. Meanwhile, hiding, so to speak, in plain view, passages from a rather older Kāmikāgama, one that has been published by the South Indian Archaka Association and that appears to survive in many South Indian manuscripts, actually also contain information about the status of Rudragaṇikās in medieval times. But these seem not to have been examined to date by historians of dance and dancers. The purpose of this paper is to draw into the debate some hitherto unnoticed passages of relevance that are to be found in pre-modern Sanskrit texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]