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Somananda (875–925 CE) was one of the teachers of
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 ...
, in the lineage of Trayambaka, and the author of the first philosophical treatise of this school (the ).History of Kashmir Shaivism, B N Pandit, page 27 A contemporary of Bhatta Kallata,History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 27 the two were the first of the Kashmiri Shaivites to propose the concepts of non-dual Shaivism in a rigorous and logical way. Somananda lived in
Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
—most probably in
Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...
, where most of the later philosophers of the school lived—as a householder.


Lineage

There is considerable myth surrounding the origins of Somananda. He claimed himself to be a descendant of the sage
Durvasa In Hindu scriptures, Durvasa (, ), also known as Durvasas (), is a legendary rishi (sage). He is the son of Anasuya and Atri. According to some Puranas, Durvasa is a partial avatar of Shiva, known for his short temper. Wherever he goes, he is ...
, who had received from
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
the spiritual mission of keeping the tradition and secrets of Agamic Shaivism alive. It is said that Durvasa created his son—the aforementioned Tryambaka—directly from his own mind (similarly to the way that
Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...
was said to have been created directly from the mind of her father,
Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...
, in
Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
). In turn, Tryambaka also created a son directly from his mind; this process continued for 15 (total) generations until eventually terminating with the father of Sangamaditya, who took a woman as a wife. Three further generations hence, the birth of Somananda took place.The Mirror of Self-Supremacy or Svatantrya-Darpana - B.N. Pandit, p. 18 Somananda thus claims a divine spiritual ancestry and investiture. Somananda was the disciple of
Vasugupta Vasugupta ( – 850 CE) was the author of the '' Shiva Sutras'', an important text of the Advaita tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, also called ''Trika'' (sometimes called ''Trika Yoga''). Biography Little is known about Vasugupta's life, other th ...
, another important Shaivite master and the author of the ''
Shiva Sutras The Śiva·sūtras, technically akṣara·samāmnāya, variously called ', ''pratyāhāra·sūtrāṇi'', ''varṇa·samāmnāya'', etc., refer to a set of fourteen aphorisms devised as an arrangement of the sounds of Sanskrit for the purposes ...
'', one of the fundamental texts of non-dual Shaivism. Bhatta Kallata, author of the —another important and well-known text in the tradition—was a contemporary of Somananda's, and a fellow disciple of Vasugupta's. Each of these two disciples of Vasugupta—that is, both Somananda and Bhatta Kallata—initiated their own schools of monistic Shaivism: and , respectively. The apparent difference between the extant texts from these rival disciples, however, is mainly to be found in the scope, or focus, of each—rather than in the essence. While Somananda's has a philosophical bent, Bhatta Kallata's is more practice-oriented, and shorter in length. Somananda's most significant disciple was
Utpaladeva Utpaladeva (c. 900–950 CE) was a Shaiva tantrik philosopher, theologian and poet from Kashmir. He belonged to the Trika Shaiva tradition and is a thinker of the Pratyabhijñā school of monistic idealism.Torella, Raffaele (2021), ''Utpaladev ...
. Utpaladeva wrote a number of texts to continue and develop his teacher's work, including the , of which Abhinavagupta's is a commentary; Utpaladeva also commented upon the of his teacher. Following Utpaladeva came Lakshmanagupta, and then
Abhinavagupta Abhinavagupta (Devanāgarī अभिनवगुप्तः; c. 950 – 1016 CE) was a philosopher, mystic and aesthetician from Kashmir. He was also considered an influential musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logicianR ...
, whose work became considered the epitome of the Kashmiri Shaivite tradition.The Pratyabhijna Philosophy - G.V. Tagare, p. Abhinavagupta took teachings from all the schools of Shaivism known to him—including, in the main, both that which had originated with Somananda, and that which had been initiated by Bhatta Kallata—and was said to have attained spiritual liberation himself, after which he took on the immense task of uniting all of these schools into one coherent system. Abhinavagupta's main work—in which he provides a detailed exposition of this project's results—is the .


Philosophy

Based on the profundity of his writings, it is supposed that Somananda attained the highest spiritual realization; from such a position, he was able to compose texts of deep understanding and insight. Minute attention for detail, and a great capacity to express in clear terms even the most difficult points, are both apparent in his works.History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 30 When examining opposing views, he makes an effort to understand them in their own terms, and to present them fairly; he then goes on to explain—with subtle logic—exactly how they are refuted.History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 31 Somananda was a householder, and his system was accordingly designed to be applied by people in the midst of everyday life; he rejected practices which require seclusion and the renunciation of society. Somananda is mainly remembered as the first preceptor of the school. He defined the theoretical aspects of in his main work, the ; his son,
Utpaladeva Utpaladeva (c. 900–950 CE) was a Shaiva tantrik philosopher, theologian and poet from Kashmir. He belonged to the Trika Shaiva tradition and is a thinker of the Pratyabhijñā school of monistic idealism.Torella, Raffaele (2021), ''Utpaladev ...
, refined and developed it, leaving the task of bringing it to completion and integrating it with the other schools of
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 ...
to the great master
Abhinavagupta Abhinavagupta (Devanāgarī अभिनवगुप्तः; c. 950 – 1016 CE) was a philosopher, mystic and aesthetician from Kashmir. He was also considered an influential musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logicianR ...
. His philosophy is both
idealistic Idealism in philosophy, also known as philosophical realism or metaphysical idealism, is the set of metaphysical perspectives asserting that, most fundamentally, reality is equivalent to mind, spirit, or consciousness; that reality is entir ...
-
monism Monism attributes oneness or singleness () to a concept, such as to existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished: * Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., in Neoplatonis ...
and
theistic Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of at least one deity. In common parlance, or when contrasted with '' deism'', the term often describes the philosophical conception of God that is found in classical theism—or the co ...
; in essence, he states that "everything is Shiva".History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 34 Besides being all things, Shiva is also : that is,
consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
-
bliss BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C ...
. He is in possession of an absolutely free will, , with which he creates the manifestation of all without the use of any external instruments or materials. He manifests through his powers of
knowledge Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...
and
action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...
. The notion of is central to Somananda's philosophy. The free will of Shiva is manifested as energy, called , which emanates from Shiva himself and is the stuff from which the world is created; thus—being ontologically anterior to the world—it is beyond any obstacles. When begins the process of manifestation it subdivides into a number of ontological categories or substances called tattvas, 36 in number: thus, in Somananda's doctrine, the world is considered real (rather than illusory, as generally posited by the other monistic-idealistic spiritual schools). The written work of Somananda is not restricted to philosophical system-building, but contains also an account of the positions held by rival philosophical schools, and a series of refutations of the same. For example, Somananda disagrees with the gross realism of the system, the subtle realism of
Samkhya Samkhya or Sankhya (; ) is a dualistic orthodox school of Hindu philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, '' Puruṣa'' ('consciousness' or spirit) and '' Prakṛti'' (nature or matter, including the human mind a ...
, and the idealism of
Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...
or of the
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
. In his view, the universe ''is'' an appearance—yet not one of
Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...
(illusion), but rather of the free will of Shiva; hence, in reality, the universe is ''Shiva himself''. Similarly, instead of postulating a principle of beginning-less ignorance, or —as in —Somananda holds that it is though the free will of Shiva () that ignorance appears. Ignorance is thus not an ontological reality, but an epistemological phenomenon.


Works

Somananda was the author of the first philosophical treatise on monistic Shaivism—the —a work in seven chapters. It starts by describing the eternal nature of ShivaHistory of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 26 and the creation of the universe. The author expounds a theory of non-differentiation—unity of subject and object, everything being of the nature of consciousness, . A large portion of the book is dedicated to the exposition, analysis and critique of various religio-philosophical systems and ideas: the Vivarta theory of the grammarians; the
Śākta Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the deity or metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, manifestations, or personification ...
approach to the ultimate reality; the nuance of the differences between the author's own approach and the principle of monism; the concept of ignorance; and the fundamental principles of all the other major spiritual schools of the time. At the close, Somananda describes the history of
Kashmiri 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 ...
and of his own family. Other texts by Somananda include a commentary on his own and on the (entitled —not to be confused with the more well-known work of the same name by Abhinavagupta).The Pratyabhijna Philosophy - G.V. Tagare, p. 12


References


External links


Bibliography of Somananda's works, Item 466
, Karl Potter, University of Washington {{Authority control Kashmiri writers 875 births 925 deaths Hindu denominations Kashmiri Shaivites Theistic Indian philosophy Kashmiri philosophers