Utpaladeva on the Power of Action

Isabelle Ratié

ISBN 10: 0674270819 / ISBN 13: 9780674270817

Published by Harvard University Press, US, 2021

About this Item

The Recognition of the Lord (Isvarapratyabhijña) by the Kashmirian Utpaladeva (c. 925-975) is a landmark in the history of nondual Saivism, and one of the masterpieces of Indian philosophy. The detailed commentary (Viv?ti) on it by the author himself was so far considered almost entirely lost, but three chapters of this major work were recently recovered from marginal annotations in manuscripts of other commentaries on Utpaladeva's treatise. The book provides the first critical edition, annotated translation and study of one of these chapters, which endeavours to justify a fundamental paradox of the system-namely, the idea that Siva (understood as an infinite, omniscient, and omnipotent consciousness) has a dynamic essence since the core of consciousness is a subtle form of action, and yet is by no means limited by the temporal and spatial sequence that affects all ordinary acts and agents.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780674270817

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Utpaladeva on the Power of Action
• Publisher: Harvard University Press, US
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674270819
• ISBN 13: 9780674270817
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 953 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The Recognition of the Lord (Īśvarapratyabhijñā) by the Kashmirian Utpaladeva (c. 925–975) is a landmark in the history of nondual Śaivism, and one of the masterpieces of Indian philosophy. The detailed commentary (Vivṛti) on it by the author himself was so far considered almost entirely lost, but three chapters of this major work were recently recovered from marginal annotations in manuscripts of other commentaries on Utpaladeva’s treatise. The book provides the first critical edition, annotated translation and study of one of these chapters, which endeavours to justify a fundamental paradox of the system―namely, the idea that Śiva (understood as an infinite, omniscient, and omnipotent consciousness) has a dynamic essence since the core of consciousness is a subtle form of action, and yet is by no means limited by the temporal and spatial sequence that affects all ordinary acts and agents.

About the Author

Isabelle Ratié is Professor of Sanskrit Language and Literatures at Sorbonne Nouvelle (University of Paris 3).