Acharya Abhinavagupta

Abhinavagupta was one of the most outstanding Acharyas of the Shaiva philosophy. We learn from references about him in Tantraloka and Paratrimshika Vivarana that he lived in Kashmir about the end of the tenth and the beginning of eleventh centuries A.D. The earliest ancestor of Abhinavagupta was a famous Brahmin, Attrigupta, who lived in Autarvedi, the ancient name of tract of land lying between the Ganga and the Yamuna. Attrigupta, a great Shaiva teacher, was invited by King Lalitaditya, who ruled over Kashmir from 700-736 A.D. A spacious house was soon built by the orders of the king on the banks of the Jhelum (Vitasta) for Attrigupta and a big Jagir was granted to him for his maintenance. Many generations after him, one of his descendants, named Varahagupta, became a great scholar of Shaiva philosophy. His son, Narasimhagupta, alias Chukhala, father of Abhinavagupta, was also a great Shaiva teacher.

Acharya Abhinavagupta

Articles on Acharya Abhinavagupta

Acharya Abhinavagupta Abhinavagupta was one of the most outstanding Acharyas of the Shaiva philosophy. We learn from references about him in Tantraloka and Paratrimshika Vivarana that he lived in Kashmir about the end of the tenth and the beginning of eleventh centuries A.D. The earliest ancestor of Abhinavagupta was a famous Brahmin, Attrigupta, who lived in Autarvedi, the ancient name of tract of land lying between the Ganga and the Yamuna.  >>>		Abhinavagupta - the Philosopher Abhinavagupta has been extolled as "Mahamahesvara" by the subsequent Kashmiri authors, his disciples and admirers, which precisely means the "great devotee of Siva", or the "Supreme - Self" in Shaivistic parlance. Kashmiri tradition also is unequivocal in testifying to his versatility. He wrote on philosophy (Saiva-Darshan, commentary on Bhagvad Gita), commented upon Anandavardhan's "Dhvanayloka", Bharata's "Natya Shastra", thus epitomized in himself the diverse talents of a philosopher, rhetorician, and a critic on dramaturgy. >>>
Abhinavagupta - the Encyclopaedic Scholar The present generation of Kashmiris is largely ignorant of the great luminaries - sages, saints and mystics - who from time immemorial not only gave new dimensions to the development of Kashmiri culture but also developed the cultural heritage of our homeland. One such luminary was Abhinavagupta Acharya. An outstanding Indian philosopher, a great intellectual and a writer on aesthetic theory, Abhinavagupta was a spiritual descendant of Somananda, founder of the Pratyabijnya metaphysics, the "recognition" school of Kashmiri Shaivist monism. >>>		A glimpse into Abhinavagupta’s ideas on aesthetics Abhinavagupta a distinguished  philosopher, aesthete and saint was one of the most outstanding Acharyas of the Monistic Shaivism. His exact date of birth is not known but we learn from references about him in his works Tantraloka and Paratrimshika Vivarana that he lived in Kashmir about the end of the tenth and beginning of the eleventh century A.D. The earliest known ancestor of Abhinavagupta was a famous Brahmin Attrigupta a great Shaiva teacher and scholar of Kanauj, who had been invited to settle in Kashmir by King Lalitaditya. >>>