Abhinavagupta
Abhinavagupta (Devanāgarī अभिनवगुप्तः; c. 950 – 1016 CE) was a philosopher, mystic and aesthetician from Kashmir. He was also considered an influential musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logicianRe-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 4 – a polymathic personality who exercised strong influences on Indian culture. Abhinavagupta was born in a Kānyakubja Brāhmin family of scholars and mystics whose ancestors immigrated from Kannauj on invitation by the great king of Kashmir, Lalitaditya Muktapida. He studied all the schools of philosophy and art of his time under the guidance of as many as fifteen (or more) teachers and gurus. In his long life he completed over 35 works, the largest and most famous of which is '' Tantrāloka'', an encyclopedic treatise on all the philosophical and practical aspects of Kaula and Trika (known today as Kashmir Shaivism). Another one of his very important contributions was in the field ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trika
Kashmir Shaivism tradition is a 20th century umbrella-term for a body of Sanskrit exegetical literature from several non-dualist Shaiva- Shakta tantric and monistic religious traditions, often used synonymously for the Trika-school or the "Philosophy of Recognition" ('' Pratyabhijnad''). These traditions originated in Kashmir after 850 CE, as an adaptation to upper-class Hindu norms of 'wild' tantric Kaula traditions. Trika Shaivism later spread beyond Kashmir, particularly flourishing in the states of Odisha and Maharashtra. Defining features of the Trika tradition are its idealistic and monistic '' pratyabhijna'' ("direct knowledge of one's self," "recognition") philosophical system, propounded by Utpaladeva (c. 925–975 CE) and Abhinavagupta (c. 975–1025 CE), and the use of several triades in its philosophy, including the three goddesses Parā, Parāparā, and Aparā. While Trika draws from numerous Shaiva texts, such as the Shaiva Agamas and the Shaiva a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kashmir Shaivism
Kashmir Shaivism tradition is a 20th century umbrella-term for a body of Sanskrit learning, Sanskrit exegetical literature from several Nondualism, non-dualist Shaivism, Shaiva-Shaktism, Shakta Tantra, tantric and Monism, monistic religious traditions, often used synonymously for the Trika-school or the "Philosophy of Recognition" (''Pratyabhijna, Pratyabhijnad''). These traditions originated in Kashmir after 850 CE, as an Sanskritization, adaptation to upper-class Hindu norms of 'wild' tantric Kaula (Hinduism), Kaula traditions. Trika Shaivism later spread beyond Kashmir, particularly flourishing in the states of Odisha and Maharashtra. Defining features of the Trika tradition are its Idealism, idealistic and Monism, monistic ''pratyabhijna'' ("direct knowledge of one's self," "recognition") philosophical system, propounded by Utpaladeva (c. 925–975 CE) and Abhinavagupta (c. 975–1025 CE), and the use of several triades in its philosophy, including the three goddesses Par ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Natya Shastra
The ''Nāṭya Shāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. The text consists of 36 chapters with a cumulative total of 6,000 poetic verses describing performance arts. The subjects covered by the treatise include dramatic composition, structure of a play and the construction of a stage to host it, genres of acting, body movements, make up and costumes, role and goals of an art director, the musical scales, musical instruments and the integration of music with art performance. The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' is notable as an ancient encyclopedic treatise on the arts, one which has influenced dance, music and literary traditions in India. It is also notable for its aesthetic "Rasa" theory, which asserts that entertainment is a desired effect of performance arts but not t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kaula (Hinduism)
Kaula, also known as Kula, ("the Kula path") and ("the Kaula tradition"), is a Tantra, Tantric tradition which is characterised by distinctive rituals and symbolism connected with the worship of Shakti and Shiva that is associated with cremation-ground or charnel ground asceticism, found in Shaktism and Shaivism. Different types of Kulacharam were practiced in Assam, Kashmir, Bengal, Tripura and Kerala as it's primary worships. Kaula preserves some of the distinctive features of the ''Kapalika, Kāpālika'' tradition, from which it is derived. It is subdivided into four subcategories of texts based on the goddesses Kuleśvarī, Kubjikā, Kālī, and Tripura Sundari, Tripurasundarī respectively. The Trika texts are closely related to the Kuleśvarī texts and can be considered as a 'domesticized' part of the Kulamārga. These subcategories emerged as cults with a wide range of practices—some with mild practices involving worship of Siva or Sadasiva as a householder deity wh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abhinavabharati
''Abhinavabharati'' is a Sanskrit commentary on the '' Natyasastra'', an ancient treatise on dramatic theory by Bharata Muni. It is the oldest extant commentary on the treatise. The ''Abhinavabharati'' was written by Abhinavagupta (c. 950–1020), the great Kashmiri Saivite spiritual leader and a yogi. In this monumental work, Abhinavagupta explains the ''rasasutra'' of Bharata in consonance with the theory of ''abhivyakti'' (expression) propounded in Anandavardhana's (820–890) work ''Dhvanyaloka'' ("aesthetic suggestion"), as well as the tenets of the Pratyabhijna philosophy of Kashmir. According to Abhinavagupta, the aesthetic experience is the manifestation of the innate dispositions of the self, such as love and sorrow, by the self. It is characterised by the contemplation of the bliss of the self by the connoisseur. It is akin to the spiritual experience as one transcends the limitations of one's limited self because of the process of universalisation taking place dur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lalitaditya Muktapida
Lalitaditya alias Muktapida (IAST: Lalitāditya Muktāpīḍa; r. c. 724 CE–760 CE) was a Karkota monarch of the Kashmir region in the Indian subcontinent. The 12th-century Kashmiri chronicler Kalhana characterizes Lalitaditya as a " world conqueror", crediting him with miraculous powers and extensive conquests across India and Central Asia. While Kalhana's account is not supported by contemporary records and largely rejected as exaggerations, he is accepted as the most powerful king of his dynasty. The chronicles of the neighbouring Tang dynasty present him as a vassal-ally, and his involvement in the Tang campaigns may have contributed to his reputation as a great conqueror in Kashmir. Lalitaditya commissioned a number of shrines in Kashmir, including the now-destroyed Martand Sun Temple. He also established several towns, including a new capital at Parihasapura. Background The main source of information about Lalitaditya is '' Rajatarangini'', a chronicle of the rule ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Common Era
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the original Anno Domini (AD) and Before Christ (BC) notations used for the same calendar era. The two notation systems are numerically equivalent: " CE" and "AD " each describe the current year; "400 BCE" and "400 BC" are the same year. The expression can be traced back to 1615, when it first appears in a book by Johannes Kepler as the (), and to 1635 in English as " Vulgar Era". The term "Common Era" can be found in English as early as 1708, and became more widely used in the mid-19th century by Jewish religious scholars. Since the late 20th century, BCE and CE have become popular in academic and scientific publications on the grounds that BCE and CE are religiously neutral terms. They have been promoted as more sensitive to non-Christia ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretations of virtually any text, including not just religious texts but also philosophy, literature, or virtually any other genre of writing. The phrase ''Biblical exegesis'' can be used to distinguish studies of the Bible from other critical textual explanations. Textual criticism investigates the history and origins of the text, but exegesis may include the study of the historical and cultural backgrounds of the author, text, and original audience. Other analyses include classification of the type of literary genres presented in the text and analysis of grammar, grammatical and syntax, syntactical features in the text itself. Usage One who practices exegesis is called an ''exegete'' (; from Greek ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Guru
Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential figure to the disciple (or ''wikt:शिष्य, shisya'' in Sanskrit, literally ''seeker [of knowledge or truth'']) or student, with the guru serving as a "counsellor, who helps mould values, shares experiential knowledge as much as Knowledge#Hinduism, literal knowledge, an Role model, exemplar in life, an inspirational source and who helps in the spiritual evolution of a student". Whatever language it is written in, Judith Simmer-Brown says that a tantra, tantric spiritual text is often codified in an obscure twilight language so that it cannot be understood by anyone without the verbal explanation of a qualified teacher, the guru. A guru is also one's spiritual guide, who helps one to discover the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kannauj
Kannauj (Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar palika, Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located 113 km (71 mi) from Etawah, 93 km (58 mi) from Kanpur, 129 km (81 mi) from Lucknow. The city's name is an evolved form of the classical name ''Kanyakubja''. During the ancient Vedic period, it was the capital city of the Pañcāla, Panchala Kingdom during the reign of king Vajrayudha. In the medieval era, it formed the core of the Kingdom of Kannauj and was ruled by multiple successive royal families. It was also known as ''Mahodaya'' during the time of Mihira Bhoja. It is situated 104 kilometres west of the state capital, Lucknow. Kannauj is famous for distilling of scents and perfumes. It is known as "India's perfume capital" and is famous for its traditional Kannauj Perfume, a g ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kanyakubja Brahmin
Kanyakubja Brahmins are an endogamous Brahmin community mainly found in northern India. They are classified as one of the Pancha Gauda Brahmin communities. Kanyakubja Brahmins emerged as the highest ranking subcaste of Brahmins and are known to have migrated to and colonized many areas outside their northern homeland. In the process, they created a hierarchy of subdivisions and exceedingly complex rank differentiations that correlated their ritual purity and standing with their position within the emerging sacred landscape of early medieval India inversely to the distance separating them from their homeland ~ André Wink. It seems likely that region around Kannauj, was the place of origin of the majority of migrating Brahmans throughout the medieval centuries. Origins The majority of the interviewees assert that the designation of the caste originates from the city of Kannauj, emphasizing that this name signifies a geographical association. The etymology of this caste is so ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |