''Tantrāloka'' () is a treatise of
Abhinavagupta, a writer and philosopher of the
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 t ...
school of
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy is the set of philosophical systems that developed in tandem with the first Hinduism, Hindu religious traditions during the Iron Age in India, iron and Classical India, classical ages of India. In Indian ...
.
Overview
The work contains the synthesis of the 64 monistic ''
āgamas'' and the different schools of
tantra
Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism.
The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...
. It discussed both ritualistic and philosophic aspects in 37 chapters; the first chapter contains the essential teachings in condensed form. On account of its size and scope it is considered an encyclopedia of the nondual school of
Hindu tantra
Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism.
The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...
. A more abridged and concise version of the Tantrāloka, also written by Abhinavagupta, is the
Tantrasāra.
''Tantrāloka'' was written in the 10th century and gained greater worldwide prominence towards the end of the 19th century with the publishing and distribution of the Kashmiri Series of Texts and Studies and prominence of
Swami Lakshmanjoo, who taught the text and its oral tradition to scholars and seekers alike.
Its complete translation into Italian, edited by
Raniero Gnoli, is now at its second edition. The Universal Shaiva Fellowship published Swami Lakshmanjoo's revelation and discussion of ''Tantrāloka'' Chapter 1-4, in three volumes (2017, 2021, 2023). The esoteric chapter 29 on the Kaula ritual was translated in English together with ''Jayarathas commentary by John R. Dupuche. In 2023,
Mark Dyczkowski published a complete translation into English with ''Jayaratha'
''s commentary. In 2024,
Christian de Vietri published ''Trika Maṇḍala Prakāśa'', the first comprehensive exposition of the Trika mandalas described by Abhinavagupta in the ''Tantrāloka''.
A complex study on the context, authors, contents and references of ''Tantrāloka'' was published by Navjivan Rastogi, Prof. of the Lucknow University.
[Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi] The last recognized master of the oral tradition of Kashmir Shaivism,
Swami Lakshmanjoo, gave a condensed version of the key philosophical chapters of ''Tantrāloka'' in his book, ''Kashmir Shaivism: The Secret Supreme''.
[Kashmir Shaivism – ''The Secret Supreme'', ed, John Hughes, SUNY press, 1985.] These chapters cover the: 36 elements (
tattvas), six paths (ṣaḍadhvan), four means of realization (upāyas), three impurities (malas), states and processes of the seven perceivers (pramātṛin), five acts of Śiva including his grace (
śaktipāta), five states of the individual subjective body, seven states of
turiya
In Hindu philosophy, ''turiya'' (Sanskrit: तुरीय, meaning "the fourth"), also referred to as chaturiya or chaturtha, is the true self (''atman'') beyond the three common states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, and dreamless deep slee ...
, fivefold contacts of masters and disciples, various modes of
Kuṇḍalinī rising, and the theories of the alphabet (mātṛikācakra), reflection (pratibimbavādaḥ), liberation (
mokṣa), and speech (
vāk), along with discussions about the origins of the tantras and the differences between
Kashmir Śaivism and Advaita Vedānta.
References
Sources
*
*
*
* ''Tantraloka – The Light on and of the Tantras'' (2023, self-published at Varanasi) by
Abhinavagupta. Vol. I: . Vol. II: . Vol. III: . Vol. IV . Vol. V. . Vol. VI. . Vol VII. . Vol VIII. . Vol IX. . Vol X. . Vol XI. .
Kashmir Shaivism
Hindu tantra
Shaiva texts
{{Hindu-philo-stub