परमार्थसार (महामाहेश्वर अभिनवगुप्त - त्रिक-दर्शन, अद्वैत शैव साधना एवं सान्वय सटीक)

50 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta
The evil of bad company is indeed very dangerous. It is like an
honest man's company with a thief.
Deeds are actually conducted by bodies, senses and organs of
finite beings under invariable and invisible direction from God.
But, being under a deep effect of incorrect knowledge, we feel
that we are ourselves doing them. A deep impression of such feel-
ing makes us responsible for the results of such deeds; otherwise,
if we see things through the correct angle of vision, and feel con-
sequently that the divine powers of God are directing and driving
the senses and organs of all living beings, we will not develop
any impression of our responsibility for any deeds.
लोकव्यवहारकृतां य इहाविद्यामुपासते मूढाः ।
ते यान्ति जन्ममृत्यु धर्माधर्मार्गलाबद्धाः ॥ ५४ ॥
54. Loka-vyavahāra-kṛtāṁ ya ihāvidyām-
upāsate mūḍhāḥ
Te yānti janma-mṛtyu
dharmādharmārgalā-baddhāḥ.
Deluded people, adhering to incorrect knowledge based on
mundane transactions, undergo births and deaths on account of
their being bound by the chains of piety and sin.
A yogin, having developed correct knowledge, and feeling con-
sequently that all deeds are being done by the divine powers of
God, is not at all involved in the chains of karman, because it is
the egoistic conception of one's having done such and such deeds
that makes him responsible for their fruits. The impression of
such conceptions is known as karmasaṁskāra. It gives rise to a
natural disposition towards rebirth to reap the fruits of such
deeds.
अज्ञानकालनिचितं धर्माधर्मात्मकं तु कर्मापि ।
चिरसञ्चितमिव तूलं नश्यति विज्ञानदीप्तिवशात् ॥ ५५ ॥
55. Ajñāna-kāla-nicitaṁ dharmādharmā-
tmakaṁ tu karmāpi
Cira-sañcitamiva tūlaṁ naśyati
vijñāna-dīpti-vaśāt.
Good and bad deeds, accumulated during the period of ignor-
ance, are destroyed like heaps of cotton collected since long, by
the power of the burning effulgence of actually correct knowledge.
Jñāna is the knowledge of the Truth at the level of one's under-

Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta 51
standing and vijñāna is its actual experience in practical life. A
person may be thoroughly convinced at the level of his intellect
about the correctness of the principle of theistic monism, but may
still feel himself to be a finite being different from God before he
experiences actually his divinity and absolute unity through the
vijñāna of the truth. Such vijñāna alone can annihilate all accumu-
lated deeds known as sañcita-karman.
ज्ञानप्राप्तौ कृतमपि न फलाय ततोऽस्य जन्म कथम् ।
गतजन्मबन्धयोगो भाति शिवार्व, स्वदीधितिभिः ॥ ५६ ॥
56. Jñāna-prāptau kṛtamapi na phalāya
tato'sya janma katham
Gata-janma-bandha-yogo bhāti
Śivārkaḥ sva-dīdhitibhiḥ.
Deeds committed by a person after the development of correct
knowledge cannot in any way bear him any fruit. How can there
be any rebirth for him? Sun-like Śiva, having annihilated the
very relation with the bondage of rebirth, shines eternally through
His divine rays.
The past actions of a Śivayogin become annihilated. His
present actions are reduced to ineffectiveness. No cause for any
more rebirth remains existent in his case. Shedding off his physi-
cal form at the end of his current life, he frees himself from the
finitude of individuality as well and, realizing himself as none
other than the absolute Śiva, he starts to shine eternally through
the rays of his divine powers.
तुष-कम्बुक-किंशारुक-मुक्तं बीजं यथाङ्कुरं कुरुते ।
नैव तथाणवमाया-कर्म-विमुक्तो भवाङ्कुरं ह्यात्मा ॥ ५७ ॥
57. Tuṣa-kambuka-kiṁśāruka-muktaṁ
bījaṁ yathāṅkuraṁ kurute
Naiva tathāṇava-māyā-karma-
vimukto bhavāṅkuraṁ hyātmā.
Just as a paddy seed, shorn of the outer husk, the inner yellow-
ish covering and the germ of the plant, cannot sprout into a
seedling; so does not the Ātman, freed from the impurities of
finitude, diversity and past deeds, undergo any rebirth.
The yellowish thin covering of rice, which is often rubbed off
with the help of polisher in a husking machine, is called kambuka.
A small round particle, stationed in one corner of the grain, and

52 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta
falling off in the process of husking, is called kimśāruka, 'syur' in
Kashmiri. That syur is the germ of the seedling. Tuṣa is the name
of the outer chaff of a rice grain. If these three elements are re-
moved from a paddy seed, it cannot sprout into a seedling. The
three impurities of a finite being have been compared here with
these three elements of a paddy-seed.
आत्मज्ञो न कुतश्चन बिभेति सर्वं हि तस्य निजरूपम् ।
नैव च शोचति यस्मात् परमार्थे नाशिता नास्ति ॥ ५८ ॥
58. Ātmajño na kutaścana bibheti
sarvaṃ hi tasya nija-rūpam
Naiva ca śocati yasmāt
paramārthe nāśitā nāsti.
A person who realizes his real nature does not feel any dread
from any quarters because everything is his own self. He does not
experience any grief because, in reality, there is no death or
destruction.
A person can be afraid of some phenomenon other than his
own self. When everything is experienced as one's own self, what
can become a cause of fear? A person is overwhelmed with grief
on account of either the death of some near or dear or the destruc-
tion of some property. How can there be any grief when there is
neither any death nor any destruction in the view of a Śivayogin
who has realized the real nature of his self?
अतिगूढ-हृदय-गञ्ज-प्ररूढ-परमार्थ-रत्न-सञ्चयतः ।
अहमेवेति महेश्वरभावे का दुर्गतिः कस्य ॥ ५६ ॥
59. Ati-gūḍha-hṛdaya-gañja-prarūḍha-
paramārtha-ratna-sañcayataḥ
Ahameveti maheśvara-bhāve
kā durgatiḥ kasya.
What can be taken as a misery or misfortune and for whom
can it be taken like that when the heaps of the jewels of the
Absolute Reality are fully accumulated inside the deeply hidden
treasury of one's inner self and when the supreme and universal
Godhead is realized as one's own nature?
Hṛdaya is not the fleshy organ known as heart. It is the inner
self, the main centre of all the functions of animation. The boun-
ties of supreme Godhead are the jewels of paramārtha.

Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta 53
मोक्षस्य नैव किञ्चिद् धामास्ति न चापि गमनमन्यत्र ।
अज्ञानग्रन्थिभिदा स्वशक्त्यभिव्यक्तता मोक्षः ॥ ६० ॥
60. Mokṣasya naiva kiñcid dhāmāsti
na cāpi gamanamanyatra
Ajñāna-granthi-bhidā sva-śaktya-
bhivyaktatā mokṣaḥ.
The state of liberation is not confined to any special abode
(like Vaikuṇṭha), nor does it necessitate any ascension (towards
any celestial abode). Liberation is the illumining of one's divine
potency attainable by means of resolving the knots of ignorance.
Fully liberated beings have not to ascend to any divine abode
like Brahmaloka or Vaikuṇṭha. Ignorance regarding one's real
nature, consisting of supreme and divine potency, is bondage and
as soon as such ignorance is annihilated, one's really natural
purity and divinity shine through the spiritual lustre of his own
pure consciousness and that is liberation. Such a being is libera-
ted even while living in a physical form.
भिन्नाज्ञानग्रन्थिर्गतसन्देहः पराकृतभ्रान्तिः ।
प्रक्षीणपुण्यपापो विग्रहयोगेऽप्यसौ मुक्त ॥ ६१ ॥
61. Bhinnājñāna-granthir gatasandehaḥ
parākṛta-bhrāntiḥ
Prakṣīṇa-puṇya-pāpo vigraha-
yoge'pyasau muktaḥ
A person becomes liberated even while residing in a mortal
form when the knots of his ignorance are resolved, his doubts
are removed, his delusion is eradicated and his piety and sin are
perfectly consumed.
When the impressions of the correct knowledge of one's real
nature become deeply impressed on his person, his ignorance, his
doubts, his delusion etc. become annihilated and his good and
bad deeds lose their power of fructification. Since it is ignorance
with its results which is bondage, such a person attains liberation
even while living in the mortal world and is consequently known
as a jīvan-mukta.
अग्न्यभिदग्धं बीजं यथा प्ररोहासमर्थतामेति ।
ज्ञानाग्निदग्धमेवं कर्म न जन्मप्रदं भवति ॥ ६२ ॥
62. Agnyabhidagdhaṃ bījaṃ yathā
prarohāsamarthatāmeti

54 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta
jñānāgni-dagdhamevaṃ
karma na janma-pradaṃ bhavati.
Just as a seed, parched in fire, loses its power to grow, so do
deeds (of a person) lose their power to cause rebirth when these
are burnt (from within) by the fire of correct knowledge (of the
real nature of his self.)
परिमितबुद्धित्वेन हि कर्मोचितभाविदेहभावनया ।
सङ्कुचिता चितिरेतद्देहध्वंसे तथा भवति ॥ ६३ ॥
63. Parimita-buddhitvena hi karmocita-
bhāvi-deha-bhāvanayā
Saṅkucitā citiretad-deha-dhvaṃse
tathā bhavati.
An individual finite I-consciousness, having a deep rooted con-
ception of finitude with regard to itself, is lead by the impression
of its future body, formed in accordance with its deeds, to the
consequent position after the end of its current form.
The impression of the deeds done by a person create in him a
consequent disposition that drives him, after the end of his current
life, to such a future life in which his deeds can bear fruits. It is
such disposition, working in each and every soul, that runs quite
automatically the whole system of transmigration of beings from
birth to rebirth in endless cycles.
यदि पुनरमलं बोधं सर्वसमुत्तीर्णबोद्धृकर्तृमयम् ।
विततमनस्तमितोदित-भारूपं सत्यसङ्कल्पम् ॥ ६४ ॥
दिक्कालकलनविकलं ध्रुवमव्ययमीश्वरं सुपरिपूर्णम् ।
बहुतरशक्तिव्रात-प्रलयोदय-विरचनैककर्तारम् ॥ ६५ ॥
सृष्ट्यादिविविधसुवेधसमात्मानं शिवमयं विबुद्ध्येत ।
कथामिव संसारी स्याद् विततस्य कुतः क्व वा सरणम् ॥ ६६ ॥
64. Yadi punaramalaṃ bodhaṃ sarva-smuttīrṇa-
boddhṛ-kartṛ-mayam
Vitatamanastamitodita-bhā-rūpaṃ
satya-saṅkalpam.
65. Dikkāla-kalana-vikalaṃ dhruvama-
vyayamīśvaraṃ suparipūrṇam
Bahutara-śakti-vrāta-pralayodaya-
viracanaika-kartāram.

Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta 55
66. Sṛṣṭyādi-vidhi-suvedhasamātmānaṃ
Śiva-mayaṃ vibuddhyeta
Kathamiva saṃsārī syād
vitatasya kutaḥ kva vā saraṇam.
But how can a person move about in transmigration when he
knows definitely and feels actually that he is that pure consciousness
which is the (absolute) 'know-er' and 'do-er' at the plane that
transcends all phenomena, is infinite, consists of the unsetting
and unrising light (of consciousness), the will of which is always
fruitful, which is free from the concepts of time and space, which
is eternal, changeless, all powerful and perfect in all respects, which
alone brings forth the rise and fall of so many multitudes of
divine powers and which is Śiva, the perfect master of all divine
functions of creation etc.? From where and to which place can
an infinite entity move?
When an adept aspirant develops a thorough realization of the
real nature of his self, he feels that he is the absolute truth which
is free even from the conditions of time, space and causation, and
becomes sure about the fact that he is none other than the Al-
mighty God Himself, Who is the only absolute truth. He does not
only take such truth as a mere theory, but actually feels himself
to be God. A deep impression of such an experience liquidates
the effects of all the previous impressions of finitude, impurity,
involvement in deeds and so on. It annihilates thus the very mental
dispositions that drive finite beings towards rebirth. Such an
aspirant becomes liberated even while living in a mortal form.
इति युक्तिभिरपि सिद्धं यत् कर्म ज्ञानिनो न सफलं तत् ।
न ममेदमपि तु तस्येति दार्ढ्यतो न हि फलं लोके ॥ ६७॥
67. Iti yuktibhirapi siddhaṃ yat karma
jñānino na saphalaṃ tat
Na mamedamapi tu tasyeti
dārḍhyato na hi phalaṃ loke.
It can be proved through logical arguments as well that the
deeds committed by a jñānin can not bear him any fruits. A reli-
gious rite, done in this world through a firm attitude of not being
one's own, but belonging to some one else, does not bear any
result to its do-er.
It is a principle of dharmaśāstra that a priest, performing a
religious rite for the sake of his yajamāna, is not himself entitled

56 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta
to get the result of such rite. It is the person for whom it is per-
formed who gets its fruit. Similarly a jñānin, having a firm belief
in the fact that all deeds, being committed through his body,
senses, organs etc. are in fact being done by God Himself with
the help of His own divine powers, does not become involved in
the result of such deeds.
इत्थं सकलविकल्पान् प्रतिबुद्धो भावनासमीरणातः ।
आत्मज्योतिषि दीप्ते जुह्वज्ज्योतिर्मयो भवति ॥ ६८ ॥
68. Itthaṁ sakala-vikalpān pratibuddho
bhāvanā-samīraṇataḥ
Ātma-jyotiṣi dīpte juhvaj-
jyotir-mayo bhavati.
An aspirant, enlightened by such realization, and offering all
his conceptual functions and ideas to the sacrificial fire of pure
consciousness of the self, kindled highly by the winds of the self-
contemplative yoga, becomes one with such fire.
Bhāvanā is another name of the method of Śāktopāya. It is a
practice in constant contemplation on the pure and divine nature
of the self. A practitioner of such yoga has to think constantly like
this, "I am infinitely potent and absolutely pure consciousness. All
this is my own divine play. It is being manifested by me through
my divine powers. I am all this and so on." Any of such conceptions
is to be repeated again and again under a regular time-table, till it
becomes so deeply impressed on one's person that he feels it to be
his essentially real nature. Regular practice in such yoga results in
the realization of the absolute unity between one's pure I-conscious-
ness and the whole phenomenon. Then the practitioner feals him-
self to be none other than the divinely potent, infinite, eternal,
perfect, independent, playful and pure consciousness aware of its
such nature.
अश्नन् यद्वा तद्वा संवीतो येन केनचिच्छान्तः ।
यत्र क्वचन निवासी विमुच्यते सर्वभूतात्मा ॥ ६६ ॥
69. Aśnan yadvā tadvā saṁvīto
yena-kenacicchāntaḥ
Yatra-kvacana nivāsī
vimucyate sarvabhūtātmā.
Clad in what so ever clothing, eating what so ever eatables, and
residing at what so ever places, the tranquil jñānin, feeling him-

Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta 57
self to be the inner soul of each and every being and thing,
becomes automatically liberated.
The person, who realizes his real divine nature, does not after-
wards remain bound by any laws of religious discipline in food,
shelter, clothing etc. He sees his own self in every being and every-
thing and feels himself to be liberated from all bondages and
restrictions. He may, very often, still observe some previously
practised discipline either on account of his habit or for the sake
of setting an example for the common man, but he is not at all
bound to do so.
हयमेधशतसहस्राण्यपि कुरुते ब्रह्मघातलक्षाणि ।
परमार्थविन्न पुण्यैर्न च पापैः स्पृश्यते विमलः ॥ ७० ॥
70. Haya-medha-śata-sahasrāṇyapi
kurute brahma-ghātā-lakṣāṇi
Paramārthavinna puṇyairna ca
pāpaiḥ spṛśyate vimalaḥ.
A yogin freed from all impurity and possessing the correct
knowledge of the Truth can never be touched either by piety or
by sin, even if he performs hundred-thousands of horse-sacrifices
or commits as many murders of brahmins.
Both piety and sin drive a being towards rebirth for the sake
of their fructification, but these become ineffective in the case of
a yogin who possesses the correct knowledge of the exact reality.
He becomes thus liberated from the results of all piety and sin
and consequently does not undergo any more rebirth.
मद-हर्ष-कोप-मन्मथ-विषाद-भय-लोभ-मोह-परिवर्जी ।
निःस्तोत्रवषट्कारो जड इव विचरेदवादमतिः ॥ ७१ ॥
71. Mada-harṣa-kopa-manmatha-viṣāda-
bhaya-lobha-moha-parivarjī
Niḥ-stotra-vaṣaṭkāro
jaḍa iva vicaredavāda-matiḥ.
Avoiding intoxication, joyfulness, anger, sexual passion, grief,
dread, greed, delusion etc.; not performing any recitation of
hymns, not making any offerings to sacrificial fire, and not
having any interest in debates and discussions, he may move about
posing as an idiot.
A yogin attains freedom from the effects of all passions. Per-
formance of any religious activities is not compulsory for him.

58 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta
He may or may not perform them. It does not make any differ-
ence for him.
मद-हर्षप्रभृतिरयं वर्ग प्रभवति विभेदसम्मोहात् ।
अद्वैतात्मविबोधस्तेन कथं स्पृश्यतां नाम ॥ ७२ ॥
72. Mada-harṣa-prabhṛtirayaṁ
vargaḥ prabhavati vibheda-sammohāt
Advaitātma-vibodhas
tena kathaṁ spṛśyatāṁ nāma.
The group of emotions like intoxication, joy etc. rises out of
delusion caused by the viewpoint of diversity. How can it touch a
person having the revelation of the monistic self?
A yogin, who sees only his self in each and every phenomenon,
does not come under the effects of emotions like pleasure, pain
etc. Even if such emotions appear in him, these can not touch his
inner self shining beyond all diversity of mental and physical
existence.
स्तुत्यं वा होतव्यं नास्ति व्यतिरिक्तमस्य किञ्चन च ।
स्तोत्रादिना स तुष्येन्मुक्तस्तन्निर्नमस्कृतिवषट्कः ॥ ७३ ॥
73. Stutyaṁ vā hotavyaṁ
nāsti vyatiriktamasya kiñcana ca
Stotrādinā sa tuṣyen-
muktas tannirnamaskṛti-vaṣaṭkaḥ.
Having none other prayable or worshipable besides him whom
he could please by praying etc., the liberated one has neither to
pay any salutation nor to offer any oblations to any one.
It is not obligatory for a liberated person to pray or to offer
oblations to any deity because he does not see anywhere any one
other than his own self. But such performances are not totally
prohibited for him. He is free to perform them as his spiritual
play. He may perform them just to establish an ideal for the
common man and very often a yogin does it to set a good example
for others.
षट्त्रिंशत्तत्त्वभृतं विग्रहरचनागवाक्षपरिपूर्णम् ।
निजमन्यदथ शरीरं घटादि वा तस्य देवगृहम् ॥ ७४ ॥
74. Ṣaṭtriṁśat-tattva-bhṛtaṁ
vigraha-racanā-gavākṣa-paripūrṇam
Nijamanyadatha śarīraṁ
ghaṭādi vā tasya deva-gṛham.

Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta 59
Either his own body or that of any one else, being consisted of
thirty-six tattvas, and being fully equipped with organic outlets as
its windows, or even an object like a pitcher, is his temple where
to worship.
Such a yogin sees his infinite, all pervasive and pure I-conscious-
ness as the only worshipable deity and finds it in all bodies and
all outward objects, all of which can serve him as the temples
where to worship such deity.
तत्र च परमात्म-महा-भैरव-शिव-देवतां स्वशक्तियुताम् ।
आत्मामर्शन-विमल-द्रव्यैः परिपूजयन्नास्ते ॥ ७५ ॥
75. Tatra ca paramātma-mahā-
bhairava-śiva-devatāṁ sva-śakti-yutām
Ātmāmarśana-vimala-dravyaiḥ
paripūjayannāste.
There in he goes on worshipping whole heartedly the great God,
Lord Śiva, known as the supreme Bhairava, along with his divine
power Śakti with the pure offerings of self-contemplation.
The deity to be worshipped by an advanced Śivayogin in such
temples is his all pervading pure I-consciousness, seen as the
Absolute God, endowed with divine power called Śakti. The obla-
tions to be offered consist only of the contemplation of the unity
of the self with respect to all phenomena shining in its pure and
divine nature. That is the worship by means of jñānayoga known
in Śaivism as Śāktopāya. It is a symbolic worship in which the in-
dividuality is merged in the universal self and that is taken as the
offering of oblations. Several other methods of such worship that
will follow are also symbolic in character.
बहिरन्तरपरिकल्पन-भेदमहाबीजनिचयमर्पयतः ।
तस्यातिदीप्तसंविज्ज्वलने यत्नाद्विना भवति होमः ॥ ७६ ॥
76. Bahirantara-parikalpana-
bheda-mahā-bīja-nicayamarpayataḥ
Tasyāti-dīpta-samvijjvalane
yatnād vinā bhavati homaḥ.
His automatic homa goes on by means of the offerings of the
huge grain heaps of diversity, appearing as the conceptions of
interior and exterior objects, into the highly blazing fire of pure
consciousness.
The self luminous pure I-consciousness is the sacrificial fire for

60 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta
a Śivayogin practising Śāktopāya. All the mental conceptions of
diverse character are the heaps of grain to be offered into it as
oblations. Such a homa of a Śivayogin proceeds on without any
effort on his part as all his objective ideas become dissolved auto-
matically into the monistic conception of the pure and infinite
I-consciousness, which alone shines afterwards through its own
psychic lustre.
ध्यानमनस्तमितं पुनरेष हि भगवान् विचित्ररूपाणि ।
सृजति तदेव ध्यानं सङ्कल्पालिखितसत्यरूपत्वम् ॥ ७७ ॥
77. Dhyānamanastamitaṁ punar-
eṣa hi bhagavān vicitra-rūpāṇi
Sṛjati tadeva dhyānaṁ
saṅkalpālikhita-satya-rūpatvam.
Such a master of divine authority goes on creating objects of
multifarious character (inside his understanding sense) and that
becomes his constant meditation, forming conceptions of his (pure
and divine) real nature.
The word dhyāna is meant here to denote a special type of self-
contemplative meditation called Śāktopāya. Such a yogin does not
meditate upon anything like the form of a deity or some nerve
centre in the physical body, as do the dhyānayogins of the school
of Patañjali. Successive rise of a chain of objective ideas in
his mind is visualized by him as his own independent creation,
suggesting his divinely potent and pure nature of Godhead. The
flow of such conceptions, resulting in the realization of the divine
nature of the self, is the meditation practised by a Śivayogin in
the process of Śāktopāya.
भुवनावलीं समस्तां तत्त्वक्रमकल्पनामथाक्षगणम् ।
अन्तर्बोधे परिवर्तयति यत् सोऽस्य जप उदितः ॥ ७८ ॥
78. Bhuvanāvalīṁ samastāṁ
tattva-krama-kalpanām-athākṣa-gaṇam
Antar bodhe parivartayati
yat so'sya japa uditaḥ.
He turns round, within the thread of his inner consciousness,
either the whole series of bhuvanas or the arrangement of the
order of tattvas or the group of the instrumental elements and
that is said to be his japa.
Japa is ordinarily a constant repetition of a religious formula

Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta 61
along with turning round of a series of beeds. A Śivayogin catches
hold of the series of one hundred and eighteen bhuvanas etc.
through his imagination and visualizes them, item by item, as
being contained inside his I-consciousness through a relation
of unity or identity. Such repetiton of the conception of his unity
with certain regular series in the phenomenal existence serves him
as repetition of a Mantra.
सर्वं समया दृष्ट्या यत् पश्यति यच्च संविदं मनुते ।
विश्वश्मशाननिरतां विग्रहखट्वाङ्गकल्पनाकलिताम् ॥ ७९ ॥
विश्वरसासवपूर्णं निजकरगं वेद्यखण्डककपालम् ।
रसयति च यत्तदेतद् व्रतमस्य सुदुर्लभं च सुलभं च ॥ ८० ॥
79. Sarvaṃ samayā dṛṣṭyā
yat paśyati yacca saṃvidaṃ manute
Viśva-śmaśāna-niratāṃ
vigraha-khaṭvāṅga-kalpanā- kalitām.
80. Viśva-rasāsava-pūrṇaṃ
nija-karagaṃ vedya-khaṇḍaka-kapālam
Rasayati ca yattadetad
vratamasya sudurlabhaṃ ca sulabhaṃ ca.
He sees everything through a viewpoint of equality and takes
his I-consciousness as residing in the whole universe as (the
necessary) cremation ground (to live in). Having his own physical
body as the necessary human skeleton, holding the broken jar of
objective existence filled with the wine of universal tastefulness in
his hand and tasting it, he observes his wonderful (Pāśupata)
vow which is very easy but, at the same time, very rare.
The vow of a Pāśupata monk involves elements like living in a
cremation ground, wearing of human bones as ornaments, using
the scullbone as a bowl to drink wine and so on. All such elements
of the vow of a Śivayogin are only symbolic in character as depic-
ted above. The firm viewpoint of equality is his vrata. The whole
objective existence, filled with everything mortal, is the cremation
ground for him. There he lives in the form of pure and universal
I-consciousness. Seeing everything as self, he drinks the wine of
self-bliss filled in the whole phenomenon. Such a vow is spon-
taneous but can be observed by very few. It is thus easy but rare.
इति जन्मनाशहीनं परमार्थमहेश्वराख्यमुपलभ्य ।
उपलब्धृताप्रकाशात् कृतकृत्यस्तिष्ठति यथेष्टम् ॥ ८१ ॥

62 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta
81. Iti janma-nāśa-hīnaṁ paramārtha-
maheśvarākhyamupalabhya
Upalabdhṛtā-prakāśāt
kṛta-kṛtyas-tiṣṭhati yatheṣṭam.
Having realized thus the beginningless and endless real Lord
of the whole existence, the yogin rests as he likes in perfect satis-
faction brought about by the awareness of his being such realizer.
Realization of the Truth is not itself as full of taste as the
awareness of one's having attained such realization. No other aim
of life remains to be accomplished after the rise of satisfaction
attained through such awareness.
व्यापिनमभिहितमित्थं सर्वात्मानं विधूतनानात्वम् ।
निरूपमपरमानन्दं यो वेत्ति स तन्मयो भवति ॥ ८२ ॥
82. Vyāpinamabhihitamitthaṁ
sarvātmānaṁ vidhūtanānātvam
Nirūpama-paramānandaṁ
yo vetti sa tanmayo bhavati.
The all pervading truth, as depicted above, is the self of all,
has shed off all diversity and is the uncomparable infinite bliss.
The person who realizes it like that becomes one with it.
तीर्थे श्वपचगृहे वा नष्टस्मृतिरपि परित्यजन् देहम् ।
ज्ञानसमकालमुक्तः कैवल्यं याति हतशोकः ॥ ८३ ॥
83. Tīrthe śvapaca-gṛhe vā
naṣṭa-smṛtirapi parityajan deham
Jñāna-sama-kāla-muktaḥ
kaivalyaṁ yāti hata-śokaḥ.
The yogin, having become liberated at the very time of his
self-realization, may (afterwards) shed his body off at any sacred
place like a tīrtha or at any dirty place like the house of a pariah.
In both the cases he is freed from all misery and attains perfect
liberation even if he loses his alertness at the time.
Being completely alert and conscious about the reality at the
time of death is not so essential for a person who has fully reali-
zed his real nature of absolute purity, unity, divinity etc. Shed-
ding off of his body at a sacred place like Kāśī or at a polluted
place like the house of a pariah does not mean any merit or de-
merit to him.

Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta 63
पुण्याय तीर्थसेवा निरयाय श्वपचसदननिधनगतिः ।
पुण्यापुण्यकलङ्कस्पर्शाभावे तु किं तेन ॥ ८४ ॥
84. Puṇyāya tīrtha-sevā-nirayāya
śvapaca-sadana-nidhana-gatiḥ
Puṇyāpuṇya-kalaṅka-
sparśābhāve tu kiṁ tena.
Homage to a sacred place results in piety and death in the
house of a pariah leads to hell. But of what avail shall these be
when the stains of both piety and sin do not touch a person?
तुषकम्बुकसुपृथक्कृत-तण्डुलकण-तुषदलान्तरक्षेपः ।
तण्डुलकणस्य कुरुते न पुनस्तद्रूपतादात्म्यम् ॥ ८५ ॥
85. Tuṣa-kambuka-supṛthak-kṛta-
taṇḍula-kaṇa-tuṣa-dalāntara-kṣepaḥ
Taṇḍula-kaṇasya kurute
na punas tadrūpa-tādātmyam.
If a grain of rice, separated well from its inner covering and
outer husks, is covered again with some other pieces of chaff, it
does not again become the same thing.
That is to say that it does not become again a paddy seed cap-
able to sprout if sown well in soil.
तद्वत् कञ्चुक-पटली-पृथक्कृता संविदत्र संस्कारात् ।
तिष्ठन्त्यपि मुक्तात्मा तत्स्पर्शविवर्जिता भवति ॥ ८६ ॥
86. Tadvat kañcuka-paṭalī-
pṛthak-kṛtā saṁvidatra saṁskārāt
Tiṣṭhantyapi muktātmā
tat-sparśa-vivarjitā bhavati.
Similarly, an I-consciousness, separated from the coverings of
kañcukas, is liberated from bondage and is not affected (lit. touch-
ed) by them, even though it continues to stay in this world on
account of past momentum.
A jīvanmukta continues to live in the world of mortals on
account of the momentum created by his past impressions; but he
is not at all involved in any limiting elements like kañcukas. He
lives like that till the prārabdha karman becomes exhausted.
कुशलतमशिल्पिकल्पित-विमलीभावः समुद्गकोपाधेः ।
मलिनोऽपि मणिरुपाधेर्विच्छेदे स्वच्छपरमार्थः ॥ ८७ ॥

64 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta
87. Kuśalatama-śilpi-kalpita-
vimalī-bhāvaḥ samudgakopādheḥ
Malino'pi maṇirupādher-
vicchede svaccha-paramārthaḥ.
Though a jewel polished by the ablest artist, does not show out
its clean brilliance when put inside a casing, it does shine with
such brilliance on being freed from such covering.
एवं सद्गुरुशासन-विमलस्थिति वेदनं तनूपाधेः ।
मुक्तमप्युपाध्यन्तर-शून्यमिवाभाति शिवरूपम् ॥ ८८ ॥
88. Evam sadguru-śāsana-
vimalasthiti vedanaṃ tanūpādheḥ
Muktamapyupādhyantara-
śūnyamivābhāti Śiva-rūpam.
Similarly, an I-consciousness, having been purified (from with
in) by the precepts of a right preceptor, shines as Śiva and does
not take up another body as an upādhi after it is freed from the
existing one.
A person who realizes thoroughly his pure and divine nature
through the precepts of a right preceptor, does not get involved
in any more rebirth and shines as infinitely potent, pure and
divine consciousness freed from all external attributes like physi-
cal form, mind, functions of animation and the void of dreamless
sleep. That is the state of his final and perfect liberation termed
as Videha-mukti.
शास्त्रादिप्रामाण्यादविचलितश्रद्धयापि तन्मयताम् ।
प्राप्तः स एव पूर्वं स्वर्गं नरकं मनुष्यत्वम् ॥ ८६ ॥
89. Śāstrādi-prāmāṇyād
avicalita-śraddhayāpi tanmayatām
Prāptaḥ sa eva pūrvam
svargaṃ narakaṃ manuṣyatvam.
It was in fact he who had previously taken lives in heaven, hell
or human world as a result of his such respective identification
built under the impressions of firm faith in scripture etc.
The impressions built by a person on the basis of his belief
identify his inner soul with the consequent forms of life and drive
him to different types of existence for the fulfilment of his flair
for the respective taste of objective experiences possible in parti-
cular abodes like heaven, hell or mortal world etc.

Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta 65
अन्त्यः क्षणस्तु तस्मिन् पुण्यां पापां च वा स्थितिं पुष्यन् ।
मूढानां सहकारीभावं गच्छति गतौ तु न स हेतुः ॥ ९० ॥
90. Antyaḥ kṣaṇastu tasmin
puṇyāṁ pāpāṁ ca vā sthitiṁ puṣyan
Mūḍhānāṁ sahakārībhāvaṁ
gacchati gatau tu na sa hetuḥ.
The last moment in a life, giving rise either to a pietyful or
to a sinful situation, becomes the immediate cause of some
particular type of rebirth of deluded persons, but it can not cause
any transmigration of a jñānin.
A particular disposition of mind, created by the psychic situa-
tion of a person at the last moment of his life, carries him to
rebirth in some particular species where he can satisfy his parti-
cular flair for the taste of objective experiences. A person who
realizes his nature of purity, divinity, perfectness etc. does not
become a victim to any such mental disposition. He is not there-
fore driven to rebirth in any abode or any species.
येऽपि तदात्मत्वेन विदुः पशुपक्षिसरीसृपादयः स्वगतिम् ।
तेऽपि पुरातनसम्बोधसंस्कृतास्तां गतिं यान्ति ॥ ९१ ॥
91. Ye'pi tadātmatvena viduḥ
paśu-pakṣi-sarīsṛpādayaḥ svagatim
Te'pi purātana-sambodha-saṁskṛtas-
tāṁ gatiṁ yānti.
Even such lower animals as beasts, birds, snakes etc. who, having
deep impression of their previous right knowledge, do visualize
their future spiritual evolution and go on moving towards that.
Some times even some spiritually elevated beings are born as
lower animals on account of some curse etc. They do not often
forget their previous position and, visualizing it at the time of
death, they build a suitable career and do finally attain spiritual
evolution.
स्वर्गमयो निरयमयस्तदयं देहान्तरालगः पुरुषः ।
तद्भङ्गे स्वौचित्याद् देहान्तरयोगमभ्येति ॥ ९२ ॥
92. Svarga-mayo niraya-mayas-
tadayaṁ dehāntarāla-gaḥ puruṣaḥ
Tad-bhaṅge svaucityād
dehāntara-yogamabhyeti.

66 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta
A soul residing in this mortal form may have affiliation either
with heaven or with hell. He takes up the next body accordingly
when the present one comes to an end.
Deep impressions of piety and sin, committed by a person, and
also his consequent mental dispositions, drive him after his death
to such an abode and to such species where he can get the results
of his deeds.
एवं ज्ञानावसरे स्वात्मा सकृदस्य यादृगवभातः ।
तादृश एव तदासौ न देहपातेऽन्यथा भवति ॥ ९३ ॥
93. Evaṁ jñānāvasare svātmā
sakṛd-asya yādṛgavabhātaḥ
Tādṛśa eva tadāsau
na dehapāte'nyathā bhavati.
In the same way, the self as it shines, once for ever, at the time
of actual self-realization, remains like that for ever and does not
become otherwise even at the time of the end of the mortal form.
The deep impression of the right self-realization carries a being
to the position of pure, potent, eternal, infinite, playful, perfect
and blissful I-consciousness and even the death of his mortal form
can not shake him from such position. Such is the effect of a deep
impression.
करणगणसम्प्रमोषः स्मृतिनाशः श्वासकलिलताच्छेदः ।
मर्मसु रुजाविशेषाः शरीरसंस्कारजो भोगः ॥ ९४ ॥
94. Karaṇa-gaṇa-sampramoṣaḥ
smṛti-nāśaḥ śvāsa-kalilatācchedaḥ
Marmasu rujā-viśeṣāḥ
śarīra-saṁskārajo bhogaḥ.
Incapacity of senses and organs, loss of memory, laboured
breathing, looseness in vital joints and particular types of pain
there in, all these are bhoga, the fructification of one's deeds, based
on his impressions of the physical form.
A person has an egoistic feeling of I-ness with regard to his
physical body. He takes all the troubles of his body as his own.
All such troubles are due to such egoistic feeling with regard to
one's body. Even a jñānin cannot ordinarily escape them.
स कथं विग्रहयोगे सति न भवेत् तेन मोहयोगेऽपि ।
मरणावसरे ज्ञानी न च्यवते स्वात्मपरमार्थात् ॥ ९५ ॥

Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta 67
95. Sa kathaṁ vigraha-yoge sati
na bhavet tena moha-yoge'pi
Maraṇāvasare jñānī
na cyavate svātma-paramārthāt.
How can such bhoga (fructification of deeds) be avoided by a
person having self-realization while he is yet living in a physical
form and is still, on such account, retaining the impression of his
previous delusion? But (even then) he does not swerve from the
real nature of the self at the time of death.
Even a jñānin has all the mundane experiences of pleasure, pain
etc. while he is yet living in a physical body. But that does not at
all mean his swerving from the reality. Such things deserve to be
taken as outward behaviour based on his life long egoistic feel-
ings of I-ness and my-ness with respect to his body, organs, senses
and mind. From within he is pure and has a firm belief in his
purity and divinity. Such belief is not at all slackened by such
mundane experiences or even by the experience of death. A
jñānin remains firm in his real nature at the time of death and
that results in his absolute and perfect liberation after death.
परमार्थमार्गेमेनं झटिति यदा गुरुमुखात् समभ्येति ।
अतितीव्रशक्तिपातात् तदैव निर्विघ्नमेव शिवः ॥ ९६ ॥
96. Paramārtha-mārgamenam jhaṭiti
yadā gurumukhāt samabhyeti
Ati-tīvra-śakti-pātāt
tadaiva nirvighnameva Śivaḥ.
When, as the result of a speedy and highly forceful (tīvra) grace
of the Lord, an aspirant gets quickly an initiation in such path
leading to the Absolute Reality, he becomes quickly one with
Śiva without any hindrance.
Liberation of a being is the final part of the divine play of God.
He bestows playfully His grace on us. Playfulness results in a
complex variety in the divine act of the bestowal of His grace.
The person, on whom He bestows tīvra anugraha, a speedy and
highly forceful grace, gets quick initiation in Śāmbhava-yoga,
the direct and quick means of self-realization, from a right pre-
ceptor. Regular practice in such yoga yields a quick realization of
the real nature of the self. That results in liberation in this very
life and perfect unity with Śiva after death. This is the depiction
of the results of the highest means of liberation.

68 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta
सर्वोत्तीर्णं रूपं सोपानपदक्रमेण संश्रयतः ।
परतत्त्वरूढिलाभे पर्यन्ते शिवमयीभावः ॥ ६७ ॥
97. Sarvottīrṇaṁ rūpaṁ
sopāna-pada-krameṇa saṁśrayataḥ
Para-tattva-rūḍhi-lābhe
paryante Śiva-mayī-bhāvaḥ.
An aspirant, heading towards the transcendental position
through the successive steps of a ladder, attains unity with Śiva
when finally the impression of his being the transcendental Truth
becomes firmly deep.
The middle path of the Śaivite sādhanā leads to the transcen-
dental position by stages and steps. That is the case of a madhya
type of the grace of God. The aspirant goes on ascending from
step to step through the ladder of divine abodes of super-gods
and becomes finally one with the Absolute.
तस्य तु परमार्थमयीं धारामगतस्य मध्यविश्रान्तेः ।
तत्पदलाभोत्सुकचेतसोऽपि मरणं कदाचित् स्यात् ॥ ६८ ॥
98. Tasya tu paramārtha-mayīṁ
dhārām-agatasya-madhya-viśrānteḥ
Tat-pada-lābhotsuka-cetaso'pi
maraṇaṁ kadācit syāt.
Sometimes such a yogin, though desirous to attain the highest
position, may rest at some intermediary step and die before reach-
ing the highest one in the series.
This is the case of a person on whom God bestows another
type of madhya-śaktipāta, a middle type grace with mild force.
Such a yogin proceeds slowly and step by step and may die before
becoming certain to attain after death, some such pure and higher
abode of highly divine and pure beings that could serve him as
a definite step towards the final step in still higher spiritual evo-
lution.
योगभ्रष्टः शास्त्रे कथितोऽसौ चित्रभोगभुवनपतिः ।
विश्रान्तिस्थानवशाद् भूत्वा जन्मान्तरे शिवीभवति ॥ ६९॥
99. Yoga-bhraṣṭaḥ śāstre
kathito'sau citra-bhoga-bhuvana-patiḥ
Viśrānti-sthāna-vaśād
bhūtvā janmāntare Śivī-bhavati.

Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta 69
Known in śāstra as a yoga bhraṣṭa, an aspirant fallen from the
path of yoga, he becomes the master of some (divine) abode
(bhuvana), rich in wonderful enjoyments. That becomes the place
of relaxation for him. He attains Śivahood in the next life.
The next life of such a yogin takes place generally in some
higher abode of superior gods. He enjoys for some time the plea-
sures available in such heavenly abode, proceeds thereafter, once
again, on the path of yoga and attains both jīvan-mukti and videha-
mukti, one after another. That is the case of an aspirant who has
still some longing for enjoyments known as bhoga-vāsanā.
परमार्थमार्गमेनं ह्यभ्यस्याप्राप्य योगमपि नाम ।
सुरलोकभोगभागी मुदितमना मोदते सुचिरम् ॥ १०० ॥
100. Paramārtha-mārgamenam
hyabhyasyāprāpya yogamapi nāma
Sura-loka-bhoga-bhāgī
mudita-manā modate suciram.
The case of an aspirant whose longing for enjoyment is stron-
ger than his desire for liberation is depicted through this couplet.
A practitioner, not reaching the climax of yoga-practice, having
even tread regularly the path of the eternal Truth, obtains superior
pleasures in some divine abode of gods and enjoys them with a
joyful mind for long long ages.
One year in this mortal world is equal to one day (24 hours)
in the heaven of gods. The days in still higher abodes of divine
beings are hundreds of times longer in duration than the years in
the heaven of Indra. A Śivayogin, desirous of enjoyments, tastes
them for aeons of our mortal world, but finally he takes up the
path of real and perfect liberation. Even bhoga attainable through
the path of Śaivayoga, leads finally to mokṣa. That is the great-
ness of the grace of Lord Śiva.
विषयेषु सार्वभौमः सर्वजनैः पूज्यते यथा राजा ॥
भुवनेषु सर्वदेवैर्योगभ्रष्टस्तथा पूज्यः ॥ १०१ ॥
101. Viṣayeṣu sārva-bhaumaḥ
sarva-janaiḥ pūjyate yathā rājā
Bhuvaneṣu sarva-devair-
yoga-bhraṣṭas tathā pūjyaḥ
Just as a great monarch is respected by all people in the terri-