| The
Muktabodha Institute is proud to announce
our first joint publication with Motilal
Banarsidass Publishers:
Isvara Pratyabhijna Karika of Utpaladeva:
Verses on the Recognition of the Lord
Translation & Commentary by Dr. B. N. Pandit
Edited by Dr. Lise Vail
Published by Muktabodha Indological Research Institute
in association with Motilal Banarsidass -- New Delhi, 2004
The Isvara Pratyabhijna Karika, or `Verses on the
Recognition of the Lord', was composed by Utpaladeva, an influential
philosopher-theologian of the Pratyabhijna school of Shaiva thought.
This Sanskrit text is considered one of the fundamental works of
the Pratyabhijna school of Kashmir Shaivism.
Written in Kashmir in the tenth century C.E., a
time of intensely active theological and philosophical productivity
in that region, the Isvara Pratyabhijna Karika, is, in part, a response
to the Buddhist doctrine that there is no abiding ultimate reality
because of the impermanent nature of all things. In this text, Utpaladeva
responds to this doctrine of momentariness and argues cogently that
there is indeed such an eternal reality he identifies as Shiva and
whom he speaks of as God (Isvara the Lord). Because this is a philosophical
argument with Buddhists, Utpaladeva does not have recourse to proof
through scriptural authority, and must make use of the epistemological
weight of direct experience and inference alone.
Utpaladeva’s intention in composing this work a
millennium ago was to make it possible for those who study these
verses to recognize and taste the ineffable joy of the Supreme Lord,
making this text of interest to seekers as well as scholars.
Dr. B. N. Pandit’s translation and commentary offers
English readers an accessible and lucid presentation of this important
work. His commentary is drawn from a series of verbal discourses
given over many months of daily study with a group of Western Ph.D.
students, who were in India doing research sponsored by grants from
Muktabodha.
In his Introduction, Dr. William K. Mahony says:
“This translation and commentary of the Isvara Pratyabhijna Karika
by Dr. B. N. Pandit emerges from and is an authentic part of the
Indian scholarly tradition of learned panditas. Here, the scholar
understands himself to be interpreting the text at hand from within
the same philosophical and theological stance as that in which the
text itself stands. Dr. Pandit is personally committed to the Shaiva
tradition that has given rise to the texts he studies.
“Consistent with the pandita tradition in general,
Dr. Pandit holds many texts in memory and offers his knowledge to
individual students by means of conversation. He has honed some
of his publications, such as this translation and commentary on
the Isvara Pratyabhijna Karika, by working with his students. In
such a setting, he takes relatively little recourse to dictionaries
or to other scholars' interpretations of a text, but rather draws
on his own experience, knowledge, and understanding of the material
from within its own religious context. He recites a verse or short
passage, writes a commentary on it, and then discusses both the
verse and his commentary with his students, thereby sharing with
them the riches and depth of his study. He does this with erudition,
humor, and affection.
“Dr. Pandit is a contemporary of the renowned traditional scholar
of Kashmir Shaivism and spiritual teacher, Lakshman Joo, who conveyed
his respect for Dr. Pandit by saying, `He is not only a living authority
on the Pratyabhijna school of Kashmir Shaivism, but he is also well
informed in the Spanda, Krama, and Kula schools which together with
the Pratyabhijna school comprise the whole of Kashmir Shaivism.'
“By publishing Dr. Pandit's comments on Utpaladeva's
Isvara Pratyabhijna Karika, the Muktabodha Indological Research
Institute continues its commitment to help preserve and make known
to the larger world this mode of scriptural study and learning based
on the pandita tradition.”
The book was formally launched in Varanasi on December
20, 2003 at the start of a three day seminar on Kashmir Shaivism.
This seminar was organized and sponsored by Muktabodha in partnership
with Banares Hindu University on their beautiful campus in Varanasi.
Isvara Pratyabhijna Karika was the primary text for this seminar.
The book launch was a high energy gathering of prestigious
scholars and dignitaries from BHU, Varanasi and beyond. Muktabodha
faculty member Dr. Sensharma spoke about the life of Dr. B. N. Pandit
and his dedication to the service of Shaivism. Dr. B. N. Pandit’s
nephew Dr. Motilal Pandit, himself an erudite scholar of Kashmir
Shaivism, was presented with the first copy on behalf of his uncle.
Presiding over the event was Mrs. Kumud Bansal,
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Central
Govt. of India. Also in attendance were eminent pandits and scholars
including Pandit H. N. Chakravarty of Varanasi, Dr. K. D. Tripathi
of Ujjain, Dr. Kamalesh Jha of BHU, Bettina Baumer, Kashmiri Shaiva
scholar and author, and the President of Muktabodha’s international
Board of Directors Dr. William Mahony.
It seemed auspicious that the event opened with
the voices of young people, portending a bright future for Muktabodha’s
vision of reinvigorating the living tradition of Kashmir Shaivism
in India. Students from the Swami Muktananda Vedashala in Satara
– who had come to participate in the seminar -- accompanied the
esteemed Vedamurti Ghanapathi Krishnamurti of Kashi in chanting
an invocation from the Krishna Yajur Veda. Two young girls from
Varanasi -- whose family has been devoted to Pratyabhijna philosophy
for many generations -- sang an Agamic invocation, and a group of
students from BHU chanted the Kula Gita.
US Distributor:
South Asia Books (www.southasiabooks.com)
Worldwide Distributor:
Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd. (www.mlbd.com)
ISBN: 81-208-1785-0 / 81-208-1786-9
Sponsoring original research and publications in
the field of Indology, with special focus on the scriptural traditions,
is one of the primary missions of the Muktabodha Institute.
More than forty such projects are in various stages
of development. A principal goal of these projects is to create
and publish works that are both grounded in rigorous scholarship
and presented in formats that are accessible to different levels
of readership in both the academic and lay communities.
In India, the Muktabodha Institute has entered into
an agreement with Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, a leading publisher
in the field of Indology, to jointly publish these translations
and commentaries. In the United States, Muktabodha has its own publishing
imprint, Agama Press, to disseminate new scholarly research. Agama
Press released
"Meditation Revolution: A History and Theology
of the Siddha Yoga Lineage in 1997".
Currently,
Muktabodha is focusing on the following publication projects:
- A series of translations of texts of Kashmir
Shaivism
- A series on Hindu iconography and architecture
- A series from the Shaiva Siddhanta school
of South India
- A series of studies of Vedic texts, in
particular of the Shrauta tradition
Within these series, Muktabodha plans to publish
the following books over the next few years:
- Translations and commentaries of Abhinavagupta's
11th century Paramarthasara, Tantrasara, and parts
of his Tantraloka
- An Introduction to the Shaiva Agamas
- Critical editions with translations of
various 5th-9th century Shaiva Agamas
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