Part 9 - Aesthetic and Linguistic Modes of Śaktyāviṣkaraṇa

Aesthetic and linguistic speculations in Kashmir Śaivism are described in the same terms referring to Śakti. It is observed that Abhinavagupta during the representation of Śakti, tries to synthesize his non-dualistic Śaiva tradition with some distinct and significant thought traditions. The linguistic philosophy of grammarians and the Sanskrit aesthetics are the two important systems among them.

Gerald James Larson in this regard remarks,

Abhinavagupta in his mystical theosophy draws extensively from these traditions gives one the impression that Abhinavagupta (at least with respect to his use of the term Śakti) is relying heavily on what might be called a ‘linguistic-aesthetic model’ in his religious thought.^[1]

Sanskrit aesthetics had explicitly made use of the traditional Indian philosophical theories and concepts. Although originated in a comparatively later period, the non-dual philosophy of Śaivism is the most significant system of Indian philosophy which influenced the Sanskrit aesthetics in a larger perspective. This is evidently derived from the style of interpretations of Abhinavagupta. Scholars profoundly have discussed about the influence of Śaivite doctrine in the commentaries on aesthetics in Sanskrit viz., Dhvanyālokalocana, and Abhinavabhāratī. David Peter Lawrence believes that the assimilation of aesthetics is nothing but the “expression of a historical domestication of Tantric transgressiveness by Brāhmanical culture”.^[2]

The scholars like Loriliai Biernaki and David Gordon White consider the process of assimilation of Tantra in aesthetics as a domestication technique. But it seems not only as a rationalization process but an attempt to habituate the aesthetic theories or concepts to the frame work of Śaivism for the purpose of the establishment of its panentheistic philosophy with the help of interpreting the ‘experience’. In fact, Abhinavagupta makes the theories and treatises of aesthetics as the tool for the disclosure of Śakti by which he can establish his monistic philosophy.^[3]

Loriliai Biernaki, while pointing out the limitation of the monistic thoughts, proposes a divergent view that through his works on aesthetics, Abhinavagupta paves a way to know about the mode through which monistic philosophy addresses the complexity of ethics in the human relations.^[4]

She remarks,

For Abhinavagupta, aesthetic appreciation of a poem or a play entails a non-linear and non-rational encounter with delight in the appreciation of Rasa or flavor of the art that lends itself ultimately to moral refinement through a process of universalization.^[5]

चितिः प्रत्यवमर्शात्मा परा वाक् स्वरसोदिता ।
स्वातन्त्र्यमेतन्मुख्यं तदैश्वर्यं परमेष्ठिनः ॥

citiḥ pratyavamarśātmā parā vāk svarasoditā |
svātantryametanmukhyaṃ tadaiśvaryaṃ parameṣṭhinaḥ ||

Consciousness has as its essential nature reflective awareness (pratyavamarśa); it is the supreme Word (parāvāk) that arises freely. It is freedom in the absolute sense, the sovereignty (aiśvaryam) of the supreme Self.^[6]

Śakti has been presented in manifold names and forms in a series of contexts in Śaivaite philosophy. But it has never rejected or hidden its fundamental characters i.e., femininity, creativity etc., even in the linguistic and aesthetical domains. In the present situation where it is presented as an aesthetic category, Śakti appears to have its basic nature in a vague form in its unconscious.^[7]

K. C. Pandey in this regard says, 

There can be no self without at least potential consciousness, the capacity of the self, technically called Śakti is therefore admitted to be the second category. Abhinavagupta puts the aesthetic experience to this level (the category of Śakti consciousness) as camatkāra.^[8]

The philosophy of Abhinavagupta reflected in the aesthetic theories is the only thing noted by the scholarly world. They neither problematized the necessity of the use of aesthetic or poetic theories in the philosophical streams; nor addressed the questions like why the Tantrikas like Abhinavagupta considered poetics as an important śāstra and made discussions on it. The traditional scholars do not consider the poetics even as a discipline that deserves serious attention. As per the traditional view, aesthetic experience has a limitation that the experience lasts for a short time and hence is sidelined and thus a new approach needs to be formulated in its stead. An examination of Abhinavagupta’s references of the aesthetics in the Tantric texts leads to the assumption that he uses the aesthetics as a tool for the revelation of Sakti–the second category and the gate to Śiva.^[9]

One reason for accepting aesthetics as a topic of concern may be the inclusion of the popular discourses such as entertainment and arts which dwell perfectly within the real worldly philosophy of Śaivites. The scholarly ancestors of Abhinavagupta started seeing the poetic or artistic works seriously. To be precise, although this tendency had started from Vasugupta himself, it was Abhinavagupta who made its appropriate and effective application.

It is popularly believed that the experience of aesthetic relish (rasāsvāda) doesn’t reach the level of experience of the ultimate (brahmāsvāda). The capacity to create such an aesthetic experience and the capacity of the artist to enjoy such an experience i.e., the appreciative or responsive reader, is discussed usually with the notion of Pratibhā. It is also termed Śakti. Here it is proposed to argue that the representation of Prathibhā as Śakti is its philosophical implication. Śakti rather is the capacity to evoke or receive a resonating suggestiveness achieved by means of the word, yet transcending the word leads to an experience of universal joy or wonder.

Though it is familiar as an aesthetic concept, origin of Pratibhā moves back to earliest thoughts about knowledge. Pratibhā is a flash of light that provides an extra ordinary perception to the writer. Kaviśakti is nothing else than this creative imagination.

Pratyabhijñā identifies Śāmbhavopāya with pratibhā.^[10] According to the system, as the water inherently possesses the capability of flowing every individual inherently holds the power of Pratibhā.

Tantrālokaviveka declares this as, 

यन्मूलं शासनं तेन न रिक्तः कोऽपि जन्तुकः ।

yanmūlaṃ śāsanaṃ tena na riktaḥ ko'pi jantukaḥ |—Tantrāloka, XIII. 89.

Note: Tantrālokaviveka on this verse says: 

व्युत्पत्तेर्हि प्रातिभात्मा कश्चिज्जन्तुः स्वोचितव्यापारनैपुण्यो रिक्तः ।

vyutpatterhi prātibhātmā kaścijjantuḥ svocitavyāpāranaipuṇyo riktaḥ |

Pratibhā is of two types—lower and higher. First is worldly like telepathy etc. second one is the supreme consciousness in Āgamic literature. According to Abhinavagupta, Parāvāc is another name of Pratibhā, seated on poet’s own heart. It is alaukika (non-worldly) according to Bhaṭṭatauta. For early Śaiva Tantric thinkers, meaning of the word ‘pāta’ is Pratibhā.

Pratibhā is equated with Śakti as it is the saṃvid of the prāmatṛ. Saṃvid is constituted of various orders and disorders. Sarvāvabhāsanasāmarthya (the all-illuminating potential) of Pramātṛ (the knower) is identical with the Pratibhā. It holds the entire possibilities for all that are going to happen and what is happening. It is beyond the sense organs and buddhi, where svāvabhāsana and svāvabodhana take place. Parāvāc has sarvasarvātmatā and it is the first Pratibhā. The concept of Śakti acts as the predominant content of all these formulations of aesthetic and linguistic theories.

Indian contexts generally relate the principle of word with the creative power. This view can be supported with the earliest written references containing in the Vedic literature which associates the word principle with female deity. Then the major scholars of the theory of word are grammarians including Patañjali and Bhartṛhari whom Abhinavagupta and other Śaivite scholars followed closely. 

Sthaneswar Timalsina precisely explains how Śaivites related it to Bhartṛhari as;

Linguistic expression in Bhartṛhari’s philosophy does not merely discribes the phenomenal reality: his Śabda is identical to Brahman and is also means to reveal the highest truth. This self-revealing aspect of language is what particularly links Bhartṛhari with subsequent Trika philosophers.

In Tantra Many followers are there to Bhartṛhari for the identification of sound with Pratyavamarśa. Here the Pratyavamarśa completely shows the meaning of touch of Śakti. Śabda is pratyavamarśapratyaya. The important meanings of the words are twofold: 1) understanding, and 2) determinate or definitive comprehension. This influenced the Śaiva non-dualistic theory of word. Three phases in the process of cognition are smṛtinirūpaṇa (remembering an object in the form made out of the word after perceiving it), abhijalpanirūpaṇa, and ākāranirūpaṇa.

In Kashmir Śaivism, a shift from śabda (subsuming artha) to reality as constituted by Prakāśa and Vimarśa can be found. Although this shift is a direct outcome of Bhartṛhari’s impact on Śaivism, it also marks the subtle line of departure from Bhartrhari’s notion of philosophy itself. Somānanda had considered Bhartṛhari just as a Vaiyākaraṇa, whereas Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta gave prominent place to him as a philosopher.

They accepted Pratyavamarśa as recognition cum identification to refute Buddhist thoughts. The Pratyavamarśa is Śiva’s agential freedom which is also Vāc. It has two dimensions as sacred (mantra) and linguistic (śabdana). Śabdana appears both in its culminated and in a separated form while it is supporting each other in the latter. Harvey P.

Alper while explaining this aspect states that, 

Each human being is fundamentally deluded because he is a linguistic creature and the mantric utterance is one form of speaking that [allows] a human being to overcome the evils of linguisticality, because in its very utterance and [discloses] the roots of language itself.^[11]

The mantra is considered empowered entity as it possesses Vāc which is nothing but Śakti. This was understood by Abhinavagupta as Vimarśa-the creative, pulsating, and self-aware consciousness of Śiva.So both the self-realization and its merging with the supreme consciousness are possible through the understanding of mantra.^[12]

To conclude, the socially and philosophically popular doctrines of monistic Śaivism are intensely associated with the modified forms of principle of Śakti. The complex nature and obscurantist structures of Tantric tradition are elevated here into the terrain capable to compete even with the main stream sophisticated philosophy and religion. In brief, the distinct ways of the disclosure of Śakti fortified the demonstration of unique theory of liberation in the monistic Śaivism.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Gerald James Larson, “The Sources for Śakti in Abhinavagupta's Kāsmīr Śaivism: A Linguistic and Aesthetic Category” p.45. In the same, the three fold foundation proposed by him is not carried out here for discussion.

[2]:

See David Peter Lawrence, Op.cit., p. 93. He also assumes that the symbiosis of Tantra with aesthetics is as similar as its conjoining with other philosophies including that of grammarians, and this tendency predates Abhinavagupta. But the references in the texts like Śivasūtra could only be evaluated as the substratum for Abhinavagupta and not as the evidences for the earlier attempt of symbiosis.

[3]:

There is a common understanding that Abhinavagupta used the theories of Śaiva philosophy for the interpretation of aesthetics. But, the present attempt is to postulate a distinct assumption that he in fact used the aesthetics for the popularisation and establishment of monistic religious philosophy developed by him.

[4]:

This observation directly proclaims the relationship of Śaivite aesthetics-centered on Śakti-to the society. But may be because of the inclination towards a conservative deliberations on the boundaries of good and bad in the society, she is not in agreement with Abhinavagupta for violating the ‘ubiquitous social taboo’s. Loriliai Biernaki, “Towards a Tantric Nondualist Ethics through Abhinavagupta’s Notion of Rasa”, p.1.

[5]:

Idem.

[6]:

Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā, I. 5. 13, Tr. Raffaele Torella, Op.cit, p.119. Also see, Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā, II. 3. 8.

[7]:

The only exemption is the direct identification of Śakti with the Vāc-which is feminine in nature.

[8]:

K. C. Pandey, Comparative Aesthetics, Vol. 2, p.103.

[9]:

The aesthetic relish is of the form of Śaktyāviṣkaraṇa.

[10]:

Tantrālokaviveka, Vo.1, p.100.

[11]:

Harvey. P. Alper, Mantra, p.279.

[12]:

Patton. E. Burchett, “The Magical Language of Mantra”, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 76, No. 4, December 2008, p.826.