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TheKashmir Shaivism tradition, also calledTrika Shaivism, is anon-dualist branch ofShaiva-ShaktaTantraHinduism that originated inKashmir after 850 CE.[1][2] In its place of origin in Kashmir, this tradition is commonly referred to as "Kashmiri Shaivism." It later spread beyond Kashmir, with its great scholarAbhinavagupta calling it "Trika" (meaning "the Trinity"). It particularly flourished in the states ofOdisha andMaharashtra.[2][3] Defining features of the Trika tradition are itsidealistic andmonisticPratyabhijna ("Recognition") philosophical system, propounded byUtpaladeva (c. 925–975 CE) and Abhinavagupta (c. 975–1025 CE), and the centrality of the three goddessesParā, Parāparā, and Aparā.[1][2]
While Trika draws from numerousShaiva texts, such as theShaiva Agamas and theShaiva and Shakta Tantras, its major scriptural authorities are theMālinīvijayottara Tantra, theSiddhayogeśvarīmata and theAnāmaka-tantra.[4] Its main exegetical works are those ofAbhinavagupta, such as theTantraloka,Mālinīślokavārttika, andTantrasāra which are formally an exegesis of theMālinīvijayottara Tantra, although they also drew heavily on theKali-based Krama subcategory of theKulamārga.[5] Another important text of this tradition is theVijñāna-bhairava-tantra, which focuses on outlining numerous yogic practices.[6]
Kashmir Shaivism shares many parallel points of agreement with the lesser known monistic school ofShaiva Siddhanta as expressed in theTirumantiram ofTirumular.[7] While also sharing this branch's disagreements with the dualisticShaiva Siddhanta school ofMeykandar, which scholars consider to be normative tantric Shaivism.[8] The doctrines of Kashmir Shaivism were very influential on theShri Vidya tradition of Shaktism.[9]
Dating from around 850–900 CE, theShiva Sutras of Vasugupta andSpandakārikā were a Śākta Śaiva attempt to present a non-dualistic metaphysics and gnosticsoteriology in opposition to the dualistic exegesis of the Meykandar school ofShaiva Siddhanta,[10] while remaining in agreement with the monistic view expressed in the older and arguably more authoritativeTirumantiram ofTirumular.[7] TheShiva Sutras appeared toVasugupta in a dream, according to tradition. TheSpandakārikā was either composed by Vasugupta or his studentBhatta Kallata.[11][12]
The main theologians of Trika Shaivism are those of thePratyabhijñā (Recognition) school of Shaiva non-dual philosophy.
Somānanda was the first theologian of the recognition school and his main work is theŚivadr̥ṣṭi.[13] However, it wasUtpaladeva (c. 900–950 CE) andAbhinavagupta (c. 950–1016, a student of one of Utpaladeva's disciples) who developed the system into its mature form.[13] Utpaladeva'sĪśvarapratyabhijñā-kārikā (Verses on the Recognition of the Lord) is one of the main works of this tradition, however, it was overshadowed by the work of Abhinavagupta. Thus, according to Torella, "Abhinavagupta'sĪśvarapratyabhijñā-Vimarśinī and theĪśvarapratyabhijñā-Vivr̥ti-Vimarśinī (a commentary on Utpaladeva’s Vivr̥ti on his ownĪśvarapratyabhijñā-Kārikā and Vr̥tti) are generally considered the standard works of the Pratyabhijñā."[13] Torella notes however, that "most of Abhinavagupta’s ideas are just the development of what Utpaladeva had already expounded."[14]
Abhinavagupta's tantric synthesis was the most influential form of the tantric "Kashmir Shaivism". It brought together elements from the followingsampradayas (lineages): the Trika, Pratyabhijñā, the Kaula Krama, and Shaiva Siddhantha.[15]
Abhinavagupta wrote numerous other works on Shaiva tantra. HisTantrāloka,Mālinīślokavārttika, andTantrasāra are mainly based on theMālinīvijayottara Tantra, although they also drew heavily on theKali-based Krama tradition of theKulamārga.[5] Abhinavagupta'sTantrāloka is probably his most important work. According to Christopher Wallis, "theTantrāloka is a monumental explication of Tantrik practice and philosophy in over 5,800 verses. It is encyclopedic in its scope though not organized like an encyclopedia, for instead of just enumerating theories and practices, it brings them all into a coherent framework in which everything has its place and everything makes sense in relation to the whole."[15]
One of Abhinavagupta's students,Kshemaraja, is also an important figure who authored the shortPratyabhijñāhṛdayam (The Essence of Self-Recognition).[16][17]
Jayaratha (1150–1200 CE) wrote a commentary on theTantrāloka.[18]
The institutional basis and support for the Trika Shaiva tradition mostly disappeared withIslamic conquests of the region leading to the slow decline and contraction of the tradition (though it continued to be passed down and practiced well into the 18th century).[19]
However, the Trika Shaiva tradition was widely influential on other Indian religious traditions, particularly theHaṭha-yoga traditions, such as theNāth school ofGorakṣa and theDasanāmī Sannyāsins, which draw much of their yogic practice and ideas of the subtle body from Trika scriptures.[19]
Trika Shaivism also strongly influencedShakta traditions.Śrīvidyā, which likely originated in Kashmir, relied heavily on Trika philosophy in its seminal explanatory texts like the Yoginīhṛdaya and received commentaries by Trika masters like Jayaratha, and became an influential tradition on mainstream Hinduism, flourishing with institutional support inSouth India.[20][21] Another tantric tradition influenced by Trika was the post-classical Kalikula (family ofKali) form of Shaktism which is influential in northeastern Indian regions, such as in Bengal, Orissa, and Nepāl.[19]
The number of major writers and publications declined after approximately the 14th century, although writers such as Rājānaka Ānanda Kavi, Anantaśaktipāda, Śivopādhyāya, Bhāskarakaṇṭha, Rājānaka Lakṣmīrāma, and Harabhaṭṭa Śāstri continued to produce important commentaries on core Kashmiri Shaiva texts into the early 20th century.[22] In the 20th centurySwami Lakshman Joo, aKashmiri Hindu, helped revive both the scholarly and yogic streams of Kashmir Shaivism.[23] His contribution is enormous. He inspired a generation of scholars who made Kashmir Shaivism a legitimate field of inquiry within the academy.[24][25]
Acharya Rameshwar Jha, a disciple of Lakshman Joo, is often credited with establishing the roots of Kashmir Shaivism in the learned community ofVaranasi. Rameshwar Jha with his creativity, familiarity with the ancient texts and personal experiences provided access to concepts of non-dualistic Kashmir Shaivism. His writings of Sanskrit verses have been published as the booksPurnta Pratyabhijna[26] andSamit Swatantram.[26]
Lilian Silburn (1908–1993) was a FrenchIndologist specialising inKashmir Shaivism,Tantra andBuddhism. Working together withLouis Renou, she translated fromSanskrit and published the core scriptures ofKashmir Shaivism, includingShiva Sutras of Vasugupta,Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, and others, many being first-ever translations of the recently discovered texts. Silburn, a student ofLakshman Joo, authoredKundalini: The Energy of the Depths, A Comprehensive Study Based on the Scriptures of Nondualistic Kasmir Saivism (Shaiva Traditions of Kashmir, State University of New York Press, 1988).
Swami Muktananda, although not belonging to the direct lineage of Kashmir Shaivism, felt an affinity for the teachings, validated by his own direct experience.[27][28] He encouragedMotilal Banarsidass to publishJaideva Singh's translations ofShiva Sutras,Pratyabhijnahrdayam,Spanda Karikas andVijnana Bhairava, all of which Singh studied in-depth with Lakshman Joo.[29][30] He also introduced Kashmir Shaivism to a wide audience of western meditators through his writings and lectures on the subject.[31][32]
TheVijnana Bhairava Tantra, a chapter from theRudrayamala Tantra, was introduced to the West byPaul Reps, a student of Lakshman Joo, by including an English translation in his bookZen Flesh, Zen Bones. Cast as a discourse between the godShiva and his consortDevi orShakti, it presents 112 meditation methods or centering techniques (dharanas).[33]
The four key Trika mandalas from Abhinavagupta’sTantrāloka, previously considered indecipherable, were translated, decoded and illustrated byChristian de Vietri in his 2024 book titledTrika Maṇḍala Prakāśa.[34]
Since it is aTantric tradition, a necessary prerequisite for Trika yogic practice is tantric initiation ordīkṣa. TheMālinīvijayottara Tantra, a major source for the tradition, states: "Without initiation there is no qualification for Saiva yoga."[35]
Although domesticated into a householder tradition, Kashmir Shaivism recommended asecret performance of Kaula practices in keeping with its tantric heritage. This was to be done in seclusion from public eyes, therefore allowing one to maintain the appearance of a typical householder.[36]
TheMālinīvijayottara Tantra outlines several major preconditions conferring the authority to practiceYoga:
The Yogin who has mastered posture [and] the mind, controlled the vital energy, subdued the senses, conquered sleep, overcome anger and agitation and who is free from deceit, should practise Yoga in a quiet, pleasant cave or earthen hut free from all obstructions.[37]
Numerous texts, including the Mālinīvijayottara Tantra, outline six "varieties of the goal" or "targets" (laksyas) of yogic practices, mainly.[38]
Each of the goals is given specific practices. For example, in theMālinīvijayottara Tantra, perfecting the Void is said to be reached by moving the mind and vital energy (through the use of mantric resonance) through two groups of three voids located along thecentral channel (which are also correlated with a system of sixcakras), reaching to the region above the head. Different scriptures outline different lists of voids and their location in the body.[39] The practice of resonance deals with various sounds, and how the yogin is to focus on a specific sound and its resonance within the central channel.[40]
Regarding mantra, different Saiva tantras and texts teach differentmantras and bija (seed) mantras. These mantras are generally intoned (uccara) at different positions in the body along the central channel (such as at the heart, throat, forehead, etc). TheDiksottara tantra for example, teaches the intonation of the'haṃsá' mantra, beginning in the heart region.[41] Some texts teach "a lineal ascent through the heart, the throat, the palate, and the forehead, culminating with the transcendence of sonic experience as the 'Limit of Resonance' [nadanta] in the cranium is pierced." Other texts have the mantric energy follow the breath through the nose outside the body.[42]
Since Trika Saivism is a synthesis of various traditions, its texts, such as the Mālinīvijayottara Tantra, distinguish four different types of Saiva yoga. According to Somadev Vasudeva:
Two of these have been assimilated from the Tantras of theSiddhanta which has two schools, one monist and the other dualist[43][44] [1.] the conquest of the reality-levels (tattvajaya), which has been transformed into a radically new type of yoga based on the fifteen levels of the apperceptive process, and, [2.] the yoga of six ancillaries (ṣaḍaṅgayoga), which is taken over with only minor variations. The third is [3.] Kaula yoga with its system of four immersions (pindastha, padastha, rupastha and rupatita) and as a fourth may be counted [4.] the three types of possession (avesa) taught in the Trika (anava, sakta and sambhava) which are innovatively presented as three meta-categories under which all yogic exercises can be subsumed.[45]
In Trika texts as well as those of other Saiva schools, it is common to formulate the process of yogic conquest of the realities (tattvas) as a series of Dhāraṇās. Dhāraṇās ("introspections") are "complex sequences of meditative practices" which focus on a series of contemplations on a "hierarchy of apperceptive states designed to bring him ever closer to the level of the highest perceiver, Shiva". This hierarchy of meditations and visualizations is based on the Shaiva schema of the36 tattvas.[46] According to Somadev Vasudeva, the procedure can be described thus:
The Yogin starts by disengaging the mind from external stimuli and then fixes it upon a tattva [such as earth, water, etc] with ever deepening absorption. He attains an internalised vision of the reality, and compares it with his authoritative, scriptural knowledge of the highest level. By means of tarka [reasoning], an ontological value judgement, he discerns that it is different from Siva and thus transcends it. The Yogin’s ascension inevitably brings him to the reality which is Siva at the zenith of all paths.[47]
One example of the meditation on the tattva ofbuddhi (intellect) from theMālinīvijayottara Tantra is as follows:
Contemplating in the heart a lotus with colour of the rising sun, with eight petals containing the [eight bhavas] of dharma etc., and a pericarp, [the Yogin’s] intellect becomes steady within a month. Within six he becomes a knower of the Sruti (scripture). Within three years he himself becomes an author of scriptures. Contemplating his own [physical] form there (in the heart), he perceives the principle of intellect.[48]
Trika yoga generally uses a system of six "limbs" or ancillaries (aṅgas) which are seen as subsidiary to the principle conquest of the tattvas. This system was adopted from theSaiva Siddhanta as well as inPāñcarātra scriptures such as theJayakhyasamhita. According to Somadeva Vasudeva, in Trika,ṣaḍaṅgayoga "is to be understood as a collection of helpful or even indispensable yogic techniques which enable the prospective Yogin to achieve the required “coalescence” or “identification” (tanmayata, lit. the “consisting-of-that-ness”) with the object of contemplation."[49]
These six subsidiaries as outlined by theMālinīvijayottara Tantra, are:[50]
In theMālinīvijayottara Tantra (chapter 17), these are seen as six progressive steps leading to complete identification with the object of meditation.[49] It is important to note that different Saiva tantras outline different forms of the six ancillaries, and "there is no consensus as to their order, their definition or even their subdivisions" among the different tantras.[54]
The practice ofutkrānti, also called "yogic suicide", is also taught in nondual Saiva Tantras like theMālinīvijayottara Tantra, which uses the vital energy rising through the central channel to end one's life and proceed to union with Siva.[55] The text says that this abandonment of the body can be done at the end of one's life, after one has mastered all that one has set out to achieve.[56]
To attainmoksha,sādhana or spiritual practice is necessary. Trika texts describes four major methods (upāya-s) to reach total immersion (samāveśa) into the divine:[57][58]
The philosophy of Trika Shaivism is calledPratyabhijñā (Recognition) and it is mainly anondualidealistic andmonistictheism.[1][62] It is influenced by the works of the Saiva monistVasugupta (c. 800–850 CE) and numerousŚaiva scriptures such as theAgamas, theŚaiva-ŚaktaTantras andKaula scriptures. The Trika philosophical system ofPratyabhijñā is presented in the works ofSomānanda (c. 900–950 CE),Utpaladeva (c. 925–975 CE),Abhinavagupta (c. 975–1025 CE) and his discipleKṣemarāja (c. 1000–1050).[1]
According to Christopher Wallis, the philosophy of Trika Shaivism also adopted much of the ontological apparatus ofSāṅkhya school, such as its system of 25tattvas, expanding and reinterpreting it for its own system of 36 tattvas.[63] Another important source for Trika is the monistic theism ofTirumular'sShaiva Siddhanta. The Saivas also were influenced by the work of BuddhistVijñānavāda andPramanavada philosophers, especiallyDharmakirti, who was also taken as a primary non-Saiva opponent and whose doctrines were sometimes absorbed into thePratyabhijñā system.[64]
The philosophy of Recognition, as outlined by thinkers like Utpaladeva, teaches that though the identity of all souls is one withGod (Isvara) or Shiva (which is the single reality, Being and absolute consciousness), they have forgotten this due toMaya or ignorance. However, through knowledge one can recognize one's authentic divine nature and become a liberated being.[65] Another important element of Trika theology is the active and dynamic nature of consciousness, which is described as the spontaneous vibration or pulsation (spanda) of universal consciousness, which is an expression of its freedom (svātāntrya) and power (Śakti).[66] Because of this, though this philosophy isidealist, it affirms the reality of the world and everyday life, as a real transformation (parinama), manifestation or appearance (ābhāsa) of the absolute consciousness.[67] The Absolute is also explained through the metaphor of light (prakasha) and reflective awareness (vimarsha).[68]
The basic theology of Trika's Recognition school, as summarised by Utpaladeva inĪśvarapratyabhijñā-Kārikā (Verses on the Recognition of the Lord), is as follows:
There is only one Great Divinity, and it is the very inner Self of all creatures. It embodies itself as all things, full of unbroken awareness of three kinds: “I”, “this”, and “I am this.”[69]
The school's theology is expressed byKshemaraja in hisPratyabhijñā-hṛdayam (The Heart of Recognition) as follows:
Awareness, free and independent, is the cause of the performance of everything. She unfolds the universe through Her own will and on Her own canvas. It becomes diverse by its division into mutually adapting subjects and objects. The individual conscious being, as a condensation of universal Awareness, embodies the entire universe in a microcosmic form.[69]
The modern scholar-practitioner of Shaiva Tantra, Christopher Wallis outlines the metaphysics and theology of non-dual Shaiva Tantra thus:
All that exists, throughout all time and beyond, is one infinite divine Consciousness, free and blissful, which projects within the field of its awareness a vast multiplicity of apparently differentiated subjects and objects: each object an actualization of a timeless potentiality inherent in the Light of Consciousness, and each subject the same plus a contracted locus of self-awareness. This creation, a divine play, is the result of the natural impulse within Consciousness to express the totality of its self-knowledge in action, an impulse arising from love. The unbounded Light of Consciousness contracts into finite embodied loci of awareness out of its own free will. When those finite subjects then identify with the limited and circumscribed cognitions and circumstances that make up this phase of their existence, instead of identifying with the transindividual overarching pulsation of pure Awareness that is their true nature, they experience what they call “suffering.” To rectify this, some feel an inner urge to take up the path of spiritual gnosis and yogic practice, the purpose of which is to undermine their misidentification and directly reveal within the immediacy of awareness the fact that the divine powers of Consciousness, Bliss, Willing, Knowing, and Acting comprise the totality of individual experience as well—thereby triggering a recognition that one’s real identity is that of the highest Divinity, the Whole in every part. This experiential gnosis is repeated and reinforced through various means until it becomes the nonconceptual ground of every moment of experience, and one’s contracted sense of self and separation from the Whole is finally annihilated in the incandescent radiance of the complete expansion into perfect wholeness. Then one’s perception fully encompasses the reality of a universe dancing ecstatically in the animation of its completely perfect divinity.[70]
This single supreme reality is also sometimes referred to asAham (the heart). It is considered to be a non-dual interior space of Śiva, support for the entire manifestation,[71] supreme mantra[72] and identical to Śakti.[73] In Kashmir Shivaism the highest form ofKali isKalasankarshini who is nirguna, formless and is often show as a flame above the head ofGuhya Kali the highest gross form of Kali. In Nepali Newar arts, both form and formless attributes of Kali is often envisioned in a single art form showing the hierarchy of goddesses in their tradition. In it Guhyakali image culminates in flame, with Kalasankarshini, the highest deity in the sequence, who consumes time within herself and is envisioned solely as a flame representingPara Brahman.[74]
An important element of Trika Shaivism's theology is the use of several triads (symbolized by the trident) in its theological explanation of the Absolute reality. There are several triads described in Trika theology of thinkers like Abhinavagupta including,
Kashmir Shaivism andAdvaita Vedanta are both non-dual philosophies that give primacy to Universal Consciousness (Chit orBrahman).[76] In Kashmir Shaivism, all things are a manifestation of this Consciousness,[77] but the phenomenal world (Śakti) is real, existing and having its being in Consciousness (Chit).[78] Jaideva Singh lists seven key differences between Advaita and Kashmir Shaivism, where in Kashmir Shaivism, (1) the absolute is active, rather than passive, (2) the world is a real appearance, rather than false (mithyā), (3) grace (anugraha) has a soteriological role, (4) the ātman is present in the human body in dynamic form (spaṇda), rather than as a pure witness (sākṣī), (5) the methods include all four upāyas, rather than solely emphasize Śāmbhavopāya, (6) ignorance (avidyā) is uprooted at both intellectual (bauddha) and personal (paurusha) levels, rather than just the intellectual level, and (7) liberation (muktī) is not an isolation from the world (kaivalya) but an integration into world which appears as Shiva.[79]
According toMark S. G. Dyczkowski, Kashmiri Trika Shaivism looks to three scriptures "as its primary authorities", theMālinīvijayottara Tantra, theSiddhayogeśvarīmata and the Anāmaka-tantra.[4]
As a monistictantric system,Trika Shaivism, as it is also known, draws teachings fromshrutis, such as the monisticBhairava Tantras,Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta, and also a unique version of theBhagavad Gītā which has a commentary byAbhinavagupta, known as theGitartha Samgraha. Teachings are also drawn from theTantrāloka of Abhinavagupta, prominent among a vast body ofsmritis employed by Kashmir Shaivism.
In general, the whole written tradition of Shaivism can be divided in three fundamental parts:Āgama Śāstra,Spanda Śāstra andPratyabhijñā Śāstra.[80]
1.Āgama Śāstra are those writings that are considered as being a direct revelation from Siva. These writings were first communicated orally, from the master to the worthy disciple. They include essential works such asMālinīvijaya Tantra,Svacchanda Tantra,Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra,Netra Tantra,Mṛgendra Tantra,Rudrayāmala Tantra,Śivasūtra and others. There are also numerous commentaries to these works,Śivasūtra having most of them.[81]
2.Spanda Śāstra, the main work of which isSpanda Kārikā ofBhatta Kallata, a disciple ofVasugupta, with its many commentaries. Out of them, two are of major importance:Spanda Sandoha (this commentary talks only about the first verses ofSpanda Kārikā), andSpanda Nirṇaya (which is a commentary of the complete text).[81]
3.Pratyabhijñā Śāstra are those writings which have mainly ametaphysical content. Due to their extremely high spiritual and intellectual level, this part of the written tradition of Shaivism is the least accessible for the uninitiated. Nevertheless, this corpus of writings refers to the simplest and most direct modality of spiritual realization.Pratyabhijñā means "recognition" and refers to the spontaneous recognition of the divine nature hidden in each human being (atman). The most important works in this category are:Īśvara Pratyabhijñā, the fundamental work ofUtpaladeva, andPratyabhijñā Vimarśinī, a commentary toĪśvara Pratyabhijñā.Īśvara Pratyabhijñā means in fact the direct recognition of the Lord (Īśvara) as identical to one's Heart. BeforeUtpaladeva, his masterSomānanda wroteŚiva Dṛṣṭi (The Vision of Siva), adevotionalpoem written on multiple levels of meaning.[82]
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