Editing Abhinavagupta (section)

==Life==
"Abhinavagupta" was not his real name, rather a title he earned from his Guru, meaning "competence and authoritativeness".<ref name="Introduction" />{{rp|20}}<ref>The Krama Tantricism of Kashmir; Navjivan Rastogi, page 157</ref> In his analysis, Jayaratha (1150–1200 AD)<ref name="Introduction" />{{rp|92}} – who was Abhinavagupta's most important commentator – also reveals three more meanings: "being ever vigilant", "being present everywhere" and "protected by praises".<ref name="The Kula Ritual">{{cite book|title=The Kula Ritual as Elaborated in Chapter 29 of the Tantrāloka of Abhinavagupta|author=John R. Dupuche}}</ref>{{rp|4}} Raniero Gnoli, the only [[Sanskrit]] scholar who completed a translation of [[Tantraloka|Tantrāloka]] in a European language, mentions that "Abhinava" also means "new",<ref>Luce dei Tantra, Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, 1999, page 3</ref> as a reference to the ever-new creative force of his mystical experience.

From Jayaratha, we learn that Abhinavagupta was in possession of all the six qualities required for the recipients of the tremendous level of [[Shaktipat|śaktipāta]], as described in the sacred texts (Śrīpūrvaśāstra):<ref name="Abhinavagupta, Ganesh Tryambak Deshpande page 19">Abhinavagupta, Ganesh Tryambak Deshpande, page 19</ref> an unflinching faith in God, realisation of [[mantra]]s, control over objective principles (referring to [[the 36 tattvas]]), successful conclusion of all the activities undertaken, poetic creativity and spontaneous knowledge of all disciplines.<ref name="Introduction" />{{rp|21}}

Abhinavagupta's creation is well equilibrated between the branches of the triad ([[Trika]]): will (''icchā''), knowledge (''[[Jnana|jñāna]]''), action (''[[Kriya|kriyā]]''); his works also include devotional songs, academical/philosophical works<ref name="Introduction" />{{rp|20}} and works describing ritual/yogic practices.<ref>Re-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 8</ref>

As an author, he is considered a systematiser of the philosophical thought. He reconstructed, rationalised and orchestrated the philosophical knowledge into a more coherent form,<ref>Re-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 10</ref> assessing all the available sources of his time, not unlike a modern scientific researcher.

Various contemporary scholars have characterised Abhinavagupta as a "brilliant scholar and saint",<ref name="Utpaladeva page XXXIII">Īśvara Pratyabhijñā Kārikā of Utpaladeva, Verses on the Recognition of the Lord; B. N. Pandit, page XXXIII</ref> "the pinnacle of the development of Kaśmir Śaivism"<ref name="Utpaladeva page XXXIII" /> and "in possession of yogic realization".<ref name="Introduction" />{{rp|20}}