![Birch bark manuscript of the Utpattiprakaraṇa Moksopaya-S14](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Birch_bark_manuscript_of_the_Utpattiprakara%E1%B9%87a_Moksopaya-S14.jpg)
The ''Mokṣopāya'' or ''Mokṣopāyaśāstra'' is a
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
philosophical text on salvation for non-ascetics (''mokṣa-upāya'': 'means to liberation'), written on the Pradyumna hill in
Śrīnagar in the 10th century AD. It has the form of a public sermon and claims human authorship and contains about 30,000
śloka
Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is ...
's (making it longer than the ''
Rāmāyaṇa
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...
''). The main part of the text forms a dialogue between
Vasiṣṭha
Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha an ...
and
Rāma
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...
, interchanged with
numerous short stories and anecdotes to illustrate the content.
[Lekh Raj Manjdadria. (2002?) ]
The State of Research to date on the Yogavasistha (Moksopaya)
''. This text was later (11th to the 14th century AD) expanded and
vedanticized, which resulted in the ''
Yogavāsiṣṭha''.
Philosophy
The text of the ''Mokṣopāya'' shows that a unique philosophy has been created by the author. It taught a
monism
Monism attributes oneness or singleness (Greek: μόνος) to a concept e.g., existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished:
* Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., i ...
('advaita') that is different from
Advaita Vedanta
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hinduism, Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the Āstika and nāstika, orthodox Hindu school Ved ...
. It makes use of other
Darśana
Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson (20 ...
s in an
inclusive way. The text teaches that the recognition that
cognitive
Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
objects are
non-existent
Existence is the ability of an entity to interact with reality. In philosophy, it refers to the ontological property of being.
Etymology
The term ''existence'' comes from Old French ''existence'', from Medieval Latin ''existentia/exsistentia ...
, leads to ultimate detachment, which causes an attitude of "dispassion and non-involvement with worldly things and matters", though still fulfilling one's daily duties and activities.
This
liberation
Liberation or liberate may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War
* "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode
* "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode
Gaming
* '' Liberati ...
is available for everyone, no matter their sex, caste or education, as long as one uses reason and maintains an active life in this world. To reach this liberation, one has to go through three stages: rational thinking and discernment (''
vicāra''), true understanding (''
jñāna
In Indian philosophy and religions, ' ( sa, ज्ञान}, ) is "knowledge".
The idea of ''jñāna'' centers on a cognitive event which is recognized when experienced. It is knowledge inseparable from the total experience of reality, especial ...
'') and detachment (''
vairāgya
Vairāgya (वैराग्य) is a Sanskrit term used in Hindu as well as Eastern philosophy that roughly translates as dispassion, detachment, or renunciation, in particular renunciation from the pains and pleasures in the temporary materi ...
'').
It is only by one's own effort (''pauruṣa'') that one can be liberated from the bonds of existence. For one who knows the reality, "fate" (''daiva'') does not mean anything, something like "fate" does not exist and has, accordingly, no consequences at all.
Mokṣopāya Project
![Utpattiprakarana-sample](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Utpattiprakarana-sample.jpg)
The Mokṣopāya Project supervised by professor Walter Slaje at the
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
is currently working on a
critical edition
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...
of the ''Mokṣopāya''. The project is embedded in the Centre for Research in the Historiography and Intellectual Culture of Kashmir (under the Patronage of the Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz). A commentary by
Bhāskarakaṇṭha (''"Mokṣopāya-ṭīkā"''; late 17th century AD) and more than thirty manuscripts in
Nāgarī,
Śāradā,
Grantha, and
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
scripts are being used.
[Olivelle, Patrick. ]
Bhaskarakanthas Moksopaya-Tika: Die Fragmente des 3. Prakarana
'. Journal of the American Oriental Society. Jan-March 1997.
The goal of the project is a critical edition of the complete Sanskrit text, accompanied by a German translation, a philological commentary and a dictionary of its Sanskrit vocabulary.
See also
*
Buddhism and Hinduism in Kashmir
*
Yogavāsiṣṭha
References
*
*
*
Further reading
* Chapple, Christopher Key; Chakrabarti, Arindam (2015).
Engaged Emancipation: Mind, Morals, and Make-Believe in the Moksopaya (Yogavasistha)'. State University of New York Press, Albany. .
*Hanneder, Jürgen (2005). ''The Mokṣopāya, Yogavāsiṣṭha and related texts''. (Geisteskultur Indiens 7). Aachen, Shaker. .
*Hanneder, Jürgen (2006)
''Studies on the Mokṣopāya'' (Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 58). Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
* Hanneder, Jürgen (2012).
' P. Kirchheim Verlag, München. .
*Slaje, Walter (1994).
Vom Mokṣopāya-Śāstra zum Yogavāsiṣṭha-Mahārāmāyaṇa. Philologische Untersuchungen zur Entwicklungs- und Überlieferunsgeschichte eines indischen Lehrwerks mit Anspruch auf Heilsrelevanz'. Wien, Verl. d. Österreich. Akad. d. Wiss. .
*Slaje, Walter (2005).
Locating the Mokṣopāya'. In: The Mokṣopāya, Yogavāsiṣṭha and Related Texts. Ed. Jürgen Hanneder. (Geisteskultur Indiens. Texte und Studien 7.
ndologica Halensis. Aachen 2005: 21–35.
*Slaje, Walter (2020).
Vasiṣṭha the Void: Inquiries into the Authorship of the Mokṣopāya'. ZIS 37 (2020): 168–204.
Edition
* Krause-Stinner, Susanne (2011). Mokṣopāya. ''Das Erste und Zweite Buch. Vairāgyaprakaraṇa. Mumukṣuvyavahāraprakaraṇa''. (Anonymus Casmiriensis: Mokṣopāya. Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe. Herausgegeben unter der Leitung von Walter Slaje. Textedition. Teil 1).
kademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. Veröffentlichungen der Indologischen Kommission Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
* Hanneder, Jürgen; Stephan, Peter; Jager, Stanislav (2011). ''Mokṣopāya. Das Dritte Buch. Utpattiprakaraṇa''. (Anonymus Casmiriensis: Mokṣopāya. Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe. Herausgegeben unter der Leitung von Walter Slaje. Textedition. Teil 2).
kademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. Veröffentlichungen der Indologischen Kommission Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
* Krause-Stinner, Susanne; Stephan, Peter (2012). ''Mokṣopāya. Das Vierte Buch. Sthitiprakaraṇa''. (Anonymus Casmiriensis: Mokṣopāya. Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe. Herausgegeben unter der Leitung von Walter Slaje. Textedition. Teil 3).
kademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. Veröffentlichungen der Indologischen Kommission Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
* Krause-Stinner, Susanne; Stephan, Peter (2013). ''Mokṣopāya. Das Fünfte Buch. Upaśāntiprakaraṇa''. (Anonymus Casmiriensis: Mokṣopāya. Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe. Herausgegeben unter der Leitung von Walter Slaje. Textedition. Teil 4).
kademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. Veröffentlichungen der Indologischen Kommission Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
* Krause-Stinner, Susanne; Stephan, Peter (2018). ''Mokṣopāya. Das Sechste Buch. Nirvāṇaprakaraṇa. 1. Teil: Kapitel 1–119''. (Anonymus Casmiriensis: Mokṣopāya. Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe. Herausgegeben unter der Leitung von Walter Slaje. Textedition. Teil 5).
kademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. Veröffentlichungen der Fächergruppenkommission für Außereuropäische Sprachen und Kulturen. Studien zur Indologie Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
*Krause-Stinner, Susanne; Krause, Anett; Stephan, Peter (2019). ''Mokṣopāya. Das Sechste Buch. Nirvāṇaprakaraṇa. 2. Teil: Kapitel 120–252''. (Anonymus Casmiriensis: Mokṣopāya. Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe. Herausgegeben unter der Leitung von Walter Slaje. Textedition. Teil 6).
kademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. Veröffentlichungen der Fächergruppenkommission für Außereuropäische Sprachen und Kulturen. Studien zur Indologie Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
Philological translation (German)
* Steiner, Roland (2014). ''Der Weg zur Befreiung. Das Erste und Zweite Buch. Das Buch über die Leidenschaftslosigkeit. Das Buch über das Verhalten der Befreiungssucher''. (Anonymus Casmiriensis: Mokṣopāya. Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe. Herausgegeben unter der Leitung von Walter Slaje. Übersetzung. Teil 1).
kademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. Veröffentlichungen der Indologischen Kommission Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
* Steiner, Roland (2013). ''Der Weg zur Befreiung. Das Vierte Buch. Das Buch über das Dasein''. (Anonymus Casmiriensis: Mokṣopāya. Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe. Herausgegeben unter der Leitung von Walter Slaje. Übersetzung. Teil 3).
kademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. Veröffentlichungen der Indologischen Kommission Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
* Steiner, Roland (2015). ''Der Weg zur Befreiung. Das Fünfte Buch. Das Buch über das Zurruhekommen''. (Anonymus Casmiriensis: Mokṣopāya. Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe. Herausgegeben unter der Leitung von Walter Slaje. Übersetzung. Teil 4).
kademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. Veröffentlichungen der Indologischen Kommission Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
* Steiner, Roland (2018). ''Der Weg zur Befreiung. Das Sechste Buch. Das Buch über das Nirvāṇa. 1. Teil: Kapitel 1–119''. (Anonymus Casmiriensis: Mokṣopāya. Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe. Herausgegeben unter der Leitung von Walter Slaje. Übersetzung. Teil 5).
kademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. Veröffentlichungen der Fächergruppenkommission für Außereuropäische Sprachen und Kulturen. Studien zur Indologie Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
Textual commentary
* Straube, Martin (2016). ''Mokṣopāya. Das Vierte Buch. Sthitiprakaraṇa''. (Anonymus Casmiriensis: Mokṣopāya. Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe. Herausgegeben unter der Leitung von Walter Slaje. Stellenkommentar. Teil 3).
kademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz. Veröffentlichungen der Indologischen Kommission Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. .
External links
{{commons category, Moksopaya
Website of the Mokṣopāya Project(includes introduction, bibliography and gallery)
*
Manuscript of the Mokṣopāya from the collection of Makhan Lal Kokilu, Śrīnagar, scanned by eGangotri.
Monism
Sanskrit texts
Advaita
Madhyamaka
Yogacara
Kashmir Shaivism
10th-century Indian books