Stvacintamani of Bhatta Narayana: The Wish-fulfilling Jewel of Praise

About the Book

The aim of the verses of the Stvacintamani is to proclaim, within the framework of bhakti mysticism, effectively the non-dualistic doctrine of Trika Shaivism. It seems that people, during the time of Bhatta Narayana, were still adhering to such forms of Shaivism that followed either the trajectory of dualism or of qualified non-dualism. As to why people followed the inferior forms of spirituality is because of the enactment of such a divine play of which the Lord himself plays the game of hide-and-seek, which is to say: The game of “concealment” and “revelation.” It is in this context that Bhatta Narayana is compelled by the circumstances, in one of his poetic outpourings, to say the following: Lord, you do not seem to be disclosing the knowledge of thy essential nature to those who are ignorant, which is to say: Who are caught up in the web of delusion, whereas, on the other hand, you willingly are revealing the knowledge of your essential nature to those who, according to you, are deserving (v. 72). In the midst of such a situation Bhatta Narayana holds a ray of hope when he asserts that it is the path of devotion that would enable the ignorant to have the right vision concerning the spirituality of non-dualistic form of Shaivism. He delineates the idea of devotional mysticism as being the ultimate cure for the disease called ignorance. It is this viewpoint of bhakti spirituality which permeates the devotional verses of the Stvacintamani. The Stvacintamani of Bhatta Narayana is the first blooming flower of devotional mysticism which, on the soil of Trika Shaivism, flowered fully by spreading the sweet aroma of divine love.
  • Author: Moti Lal Pandit
  • Publisher: Dev Publishers & Distributors
  • Edition: First
  • Year: 2023
  • Dimension: 14 x 22 cm
  • No. of Pages: 282
  • Weight: 500 gm
  • ISBN: 9789394852563
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • Price: ₹ 1195

About the Author

Moti Lal Pandit, in the crucible of ascetic tapas, had the opportunity of studying the Trika form of Shaivism from such outstanding gurus as Dr. Baljinath Pandit and Shri Dinanath Yaksa, and so I pay my humble homage to both of my teachers. As a result of this pursuit for divine knowledge, the author has successfully authored the following books on Kashmir Shaivism as well as on Buddhism: Essentials of Buddhist Thought; Buddhism in Perspective; Being as Becoming; Towards Transcendence; Sunyata: The Essence of Mahayana Spirituality; Buddhism: A Religion of Salvation; Encounter with Buddhism; The Buddhist Theory of Knowledge and Reality; Transcendence and Negation; The Trika Shaivism of Kashmir; The Disclosure of Being; An Introduction to the Philosophy of Trika Shaivism; The Philosophical and Practical Aspects of Kashmir Shaivism; From Dualism to Non-Dualism; The Transcendent Nondualism to Trika Shaivism; (trs.) The Essence of Supreme Reality or the Paramarthasara of Abhinavagupta; (trs.) The Kramastotra of Siddhanatha or The Hymn on the Time as a Process; (trs.) A Banquet of Philosophical and Devotional Hymns of Abhinavagupta; Kashmir Shaivism: A Philosophy of Being and Becoming.

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