This book offers a structured introduction to the philosophical vision of Kashmir Shaivism while situating it within the broader framework of classical Indian philosophy. It opens with the Śaiva doctrine of the five divine acts (pañcakrtya) of Śiva srşți (creation), sthiti (maintenance), samhära (dissolution), tirodhana (concealment), and anugraha (grace). While the first three pertain to the manifestation of the universe, the latter two address the condition and destiny of the individual self (jīva), thereby introducing the central concerns of bondage, recognition, and liberation. To prepare the philosophical ground for this discussion, the book begins with the pramāņa-based realist epistemology and ontological categories of Nyaya-Vaiśeşika. These traditions provide analytical clarity regarding sthūla prameya (gross empirical categories) such as objects, causation, and relations.
Building on this foundation, the exposition gradually moves toward the metaphysical framework of Kashmir Shaivism, examining the deeper relation between pramātā (knower), pramāna (means of knowledge), and prameya (object of knowledge). The work also introduces key elements of Saiva cosmology, describing the graded manifestation of divine powers from the deities associated with creation, maintenance, and dissolution to subtler levels of reality culminating in Sadāśiva and ultimately Paramaśiva, the supreme principle. Throughout the text, primary discussions are presented with parallel Hindi and English translations, enabling readers to engage with the philosophical material while retaining the traditional terminology. The book is intended as a systematic guide for learners of Kashmir Shaivism and for readers interested in its comparative study with other classical philosophical systems.
It is both an honour and a privilege to write the foreword for kāśmīraśaivasarvasvam (कश्मीर शैवसर्वस्वम्), a work that ventures with courage and clarity into the profound metaphysics of Kashmir Shaivism. Authored by Shri Durga Nath Bhardwaj, a diligent and promising research scholar in the Department of Sanskrit, University of Lucknow, this book exemplifies the seriousness of classical scholarship while remaining open to contemporary seekers of knowledge. At the very outset, the book situates itself in the heart of the Shaiva vision: the five divine acts (pañcakrtya) of Lord Śiva-creation (srști), maintenance (sthiti), dissolution (samhāra), concealment (tirodhāna), and grace (anugraha). Of these, the first three pertain to the universe's manifestation, while the latter two concern the destiny of the individual soul (jīva). It is concealment that binds the soul in forgetfulness of its own nature, and grace that alone redeems it, kindling remembrance of its innate Śiva-hood. This opening framework is a profound theological anthropology: it explains why human beings experience limitation, suffering, and alienation, and how they may rediscover their innate sovereignty (aiśvarya) through divine compassion. By beginning his exposition here, the author anchors his readers in the experiential heart of Kashmir Shaivism. The marvel of tirodhana, the concealment by which consciousness veils itself from itself, is matched only by the majesty of anugraha, the descent of grace by which the veil is lifted.
The sages and thinkers of the entire world bow down to the divine, subtle reflections of Indian philosophy. The culmination of all philosophical systems rests in non-dualism (advaya-vāda). Thus, the presence of vijñāna-advaya of Yogācāra, the sunya-advaya of Madhyamika, the nirguna-brahma-advaya of Vedanta, the śabda-brahma-advaya of the Grammatical school, and the īśvara-advaya of Kashmir Śaivism presents a fivefold non-dualism (pañcavidha-advaya). Ācārya Somananda, in his Śivadrști, provided a rational refutation of the śabda-brahma-vāda of grammar. Ācārya Utpaladeva determined the ultimate purport of even dualistic (dvaita-paraka) and dual-nondual (dvaita-advaita-paraka) statements of the Agamas in establishing non-dualism (advaya).
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