Abhinavagupta’s Theory of Relection A Study, Critical Edition and Translation of the Pratibimbavāda (verses 1-65) in Chapter III of the Tantrāloka with the commentary of Jayaratha Mrinal Kaul A Thesis In the Department of Religion Presented in Partial Fulilment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Religion) at Concordia University Montréal, Québec, Canada August 2016 © Mrinal Kaul, 2016 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Mrinal Kaul Entitled: Abhinavagupta’s Theory of Relection: A Study, Critical Edition and Translation of the Pratibimbavāda (verses 1-65) in Chapter III of the Tantrāloka with the commentary of Jayaratha and submitted in partial fulillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Religion) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the inal Examining Committee: _____________________________Chair Dr Christine Jourdan _____________________________External Examiner Dr Richard Mann _____________________________External to Programme Dr Stephen Yeager _____________________________Examiner Dr Francesco Sferra _____________________________Examiner Dr Leslie Orr _____________________________Supervisor Dr Shaman Hatley Approved by ____________________________________________________________ Dr Carly Daniel-Hughes, Graduate Program Director September 16, 2016 ____________________________________________ Dr André Roy, Dean Faculty of Arts and Science ABSTRACT Abhinavagupta’s Theory of Relection: A Study, Critical Edition and Translation of the Pratibimbavāda (verses 1-65) in the Chapter III of the Tantrāloka along with the commentary of Jayaratha Mrinal Kaul, Ph.D. Religion Concordia University, 2016 The present thesis studies the theory of relection (pratibimbavāda) as discussed by Abhinavagupta (l.c. 975-1025 CE), the non-dualist Trika Śaiva thinker of Kashmir, primarily focusing on what is often referred to as his magnum opus: the Tantrāloka. The present study has as its foundation a new critical edition of a small, nonetheless important, passage of the Tantrāloka—chapter-3, verses 1-65 and the commentary titled -viveka thereon by Jayaratha (l.c. 1225-1275 CE)—along with an annotated English translation. The edition here presented represents the very irst philologically exhaustive edition of any part of the Tantrāloka or Tantrāloka-viveka. The textual critical exercise undertaken in this thesis based on the examination of twenty-nine manuscripts has shown that the textual transmission of the Tantrāloka and - viveka (at least of the small part that I have studied) thereon has undergone corruption, but of a minor sort. The present edition is a much improved version over the editio princeps yet nothing signiicantly diferent from the latter as far as the interpretation of the text is concerned. Abhinavagupta’s teachings are laid deep under the esoteric inluence of the Kaula and the Krama systems, and he employs a robust model of developing a critical dialectical structure that manifests in his works like those of the theories of relection amongst many others. In the Tantrāloka as also in his other Trika works, he is endeavouring to establish a unique ontological status to a relected object (pratibimba) rejecting the thesis of Naiyāyikas, Sāṃkhyavādins and Vijñānavādins. The varied textures of his hermeneutics inds groundings in many branches of knowledge as diverse as metaphysics, epistemology, soteriology, aesthetics, mysticism and phenomenology. iii Acknowledgements I have a long list of people to thank and acknowledge who have been in one way or the other concerned with this diicult but pleasant journey of mine. To begin with I am immensely indebted to the members of my thesis committee: Professor Francesco Sferra, Dr Shaman Hatley and Professor Leslie Orr. For almost three years beginning May 2012, I studied this part of the Tantrāloka with my teacher Professor Francesco Sferra in the Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale" (Italia). He has left no stone unturned in guiding me through this tedious task of editing, translating, understanding and interpreting this text. When I began this project, I was not sure if I would be able to accomplish this. I gratefully thank Prof Sferra for everything he has done for me and I humbly dedicate this work to him. His repeated encouragement and faith in me did eventually show me the 'Light' (prakāśa). Back in Montréal, Dr Shaman Hatley guided me smoothly throughout this project. His timely responses and critical suggestions have been extremely helpful. He has always ignored my innocence and ofered me enough opportunities to overcome my limitations and grow into a healthy academic. The vast academic experience of Prof Leslie Orr has always proved magical. Whether it is the complication of situation or concept, that would otherwise sound complicated to others is like a piece of cake for this veteran historian of South Asia. While Professor T.S. Rukmani was in Montréal earlier, it was always a pleasure to learn from her vast background in Indian philosophical literatures. Even though I have never been a formal student of Professor Ashok Aklujkar, however he has guided me throughout my scholarly pursuits. He has taught me much in disguise, and it is only because of the mental strength he has infused into me and the encouragement he has ofered me over the years that I could inish a work like this. I salute him in fervent gratitude and ofer this work to him as a dedication. One of the most diicult and foremost tasks for accomplishing a project like this was to search for the manuscripts of the Tantrāloka in India and outside India. In India, I would like to thank and acknowledge the help of a number of individuals and institutions who assisted me in one way or the other in either locating the manuscripts I was looking for or allowing me to get the copies thereof. First and foremost I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude for Dr Kapila Vatsyayan who besides helping me in my personal academic iv pursuits has also been very supportive in guiding me through my search for manuscripts in India. I would also like to thank the following manuscript libraries, institutions and individuals associated with them for allowing me to use their collections for my research: • Mr Jawahar Sircar, the then secretary to the Ministry of Culture, Government of India for a special permission to have access to one of the rarest manuscripts of the Tantrāloka in the National Museum of India, New Delhi. • Mr Lov Verma, the then director, Mrs Jaya and Mrs Meenakshi Verma in the National Archives of India, New Delhi. • Dr R.R.S. Chauhan, Dr Nasim Akhtar and Dr S.V. Tripathi in the National Museum of India, New Delhi. • Mr Pratapananda Jha, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi. • Prof Panjab Singh, the then vice-chancellor, Prof R.S. Dubey, the then chief-librarian, Dr Virendra Kumar Mishra, the then curator of the Sanskrit section, in the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi. A very special thanks to the Assistant Librarian Ms Neha Tripathi. • Dr Suryakant Yadva, the then chief-librarian, Sampurnananda Sanskrit University, Varanasi. • Jenab Khalid Bashir Ahmad, the then director, and Jenab G.N. Sharshar, the then deputy director, Directorate of the Libraries and Research, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar. A special thanks to the then Librarian, Mrs Naseem Akhtar in the Oriental Research Library, Srinagar. • Dr Ashok Kalia, the then General Secretary, Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad, Lucknow. • Dr P. Vishalakshy and Dr K G Sreelekha, Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. • Dr Saroja Bhate, Dr M.G. Dhadphale, Dr Shreenand Bapat, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune. • Mr Glenn Ratclife and Mr Winifred Assan, SOAS, University of London. • Dr Dhani Ram Shastri, Ranbir Sanskrit Research Institute, Jammu and the secretary, The Dharmarth Trust, Jammu. I would like to express my gratitude to the Chair of Hindu Studies, Department of Religion, Concordia University for ofering me the departmental scholarship for doctoral students studying Indology. My initial research was also supported by partial scholarships from the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust (Bombay) and The Paul v Foundation (Calcutta). I was ofered a Graduate Mobility Bursary in Concordia University by the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche, de la Science et de la Technologie (MELS) (Gouvernement du Québec) for attending the Third International Workshop on Early Tantra in Universität Hamburg (2010) and for a six months research trip to Naples, Italy (May-October, 2012). A short term research fellowship (Stage de recherche Québec-Inde) under Merit Scholarship Program for Foreign Students 2014-2015, by the Ministere de l'Education, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS), Fonds de la recherche du Québec - Nature et technologies (FQRNT), Gouvernement du Québec, allowed me to visit Montréal in the Winter of 2014-15 so that I could inish the last leg of my research. I sincerely and gratefully acknowledge and thank all these bodies for their inancial support. Here I must also thank Karen Harris and Shikha Mukherjee. Amongst my teachers, advisors, friends and colleagues who have always guided me, helped me one way or the other in my research and with who I have had many meaningful conversations from time to time I would like to mention Rafaele