Abhinavagupta's Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita by Abhinavagupta

by Abhinavagupta, Bettina Baumer (Foreword), Boris Marjanovic (Translator)

Abhinavagupta's commentary on the Bhagavad Gita through the lens on Kahsmiri Shaivism.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

354 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

Abhinavagupta (c. 950 – 1016 CE ) was a philosopher, mystic and aesthetician from Kashmir. He was also considered an influential musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logician – a polymathic personality who exercised strong influences on Indian culture.

Abhinavagupta was born in a Brahmin family of scholars and mystics who whose ancestors immigrated from Kannauj by the great king of Kashmira, 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 of philosophy of aesthetics with his famous Abhinavabhāratī commentary of Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata Muni.

Reviews

[Kaśyap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bilingual. Sanskrit and English. Abhinavagaupta, a śaiva acharya wrote the Bhagavad gita commentary to throw light on what he called the hidden or esoteric meaning of Gita. The battle between Pandavas and the Kauravas is considered to be a conflict between jnyana(knowledge) and ajnyana(ignorance). For Abhinavagupta, both knowledge(jnana) and action(karma) are the same as both emanate from the supreme consciousness(chit). With the knowledge of Brahman(experiential knowledge, the non-dual awareness that comes with sadhana and anugraha
), actions no longer bind one and one is freed from karma.

According to Saiva advaita school, Maya doesn't have a negative connotation and isn't considered Mithya(illusion) like in Shankara Vedanta. Rather, the universe is the līlā(creative play) and an emanation of Paramatma(God or supreme consciousness) and is not different from him.
So the Cosmos and the Self are only the same but different modes of reality.

The Kashmir recension of bhagavad gita is slightly different from the more prevalent ones. And Abhinavagupta doesn't comment on every verse. He doesn't bother with the verses he considers
straight forward.

[Eugene Pustoshkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great monument of yogic thought, an interpretation of Bhagavad Gita through the lens of supreme nondual tantrism of Kashmir Shaivism. Abhinavagupta offers practical recommendations to yogins who aspire to dwell in and as delightful Supreme Awareness. Much recommended!

[Jeff Durant · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Heaven is the limited goal that comes as a result of attachment for the limited fruits of action."- Boris Marjanovic

"If a product comes into existence from what was already existent, then its non-existence was never present. This proves its permanency. If the nature of reality is permanency what could be accomplished by grief?"- Abhinavagupta

My response to pantheism is, if everything is the same, then why do anything? The Gita offers a response..

[A. B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful and profound Kashmiri Śaivite interpretation of the Gītā. This is of course a profound book that will require much more contemplation to truly grasp.