Abhinavagupta was born in a Brahmin family of scholars and mystics who whose ancestors were immigrated from kannauj by the great king of Kashmira, Lalitaditya Muktapida.
20 Facts About Abhinavagupta
2.
Abhinavagupta studied all the schools of philosophy and art of his time under the guidance of as many as fifteen teachers and gurus.
3.
From Jayaratha, we learn that Abhinavagupta was in possession of all the six qualities required for the recipients of the tremendous level of saktipata, as described in the sacred texts : an unflinching faith in God, realisation of mantras, control over objective principles, successful conclusion of all the activities undertaken, poetic creativity and spontaneous knowledge of all disciplines.
4.
Abhinavagupta reconstructed, rationalised and orchestrated the philosophical knowledge into a more coherent form, assessing all the available sources of his time, not unlike a modern scientific researcher.
5.
The term by which Abhinavagupta himself defines his origin is "yoginibhu", 'born of a yogini'.
6.
Abhinavagupta had a cultivated mind and a heart "outstandingly adorned with devotion to Mahesvara ".
7.
Abhinavagupta was Abhinavagupta's first teacher, instructing him in grammar, logic and literature.
8.
Abhinavagupta's wife was presumably Abhinavagupta's older sister Amba, who looked with reverence upon her illustrious brother.
9.
The emerging picture here is that Abhinavagupta lived in a nurturing and protected environment, where his creative energies got all the support they required.
10.
Abhinavagupta approached Vaisnavas, Buddhists, Siddhanta Saivists, and the Trika scholars.
11.
Besides being the teacher of the famous Abhinavagupta, Bhutiraja was the father of two eminent scholars.
12.
Laksmanagupta, a direct disciple of Utpaladeva, in the lineage of Trayambaka, was highly respected by Abhinavagupta and taught him all the schools of monistic thought: Krama, Trika, and Pratyabhijna.
13.
Such union is essentially non-physical and universal, and thus Abhinavagupta conceived himself as always in communion with Shiva-Shakti.
14.
Abhinavagupta studied assiduously at least until the age of thirty or thirty-five.
15.
Abhinavagupta lived in his home with his family members and disciples, and he did not become a wandering monk, nor did he take on the regular duties of his family, but lived out his life as a writer and a teacher.
16.
Abhinavagupta's personality was described as a living realisation of his vision.
17.
Abhinavagupta's works fall into multiple sections: manuals of religious ritual, devotional songs, philosophical works and philosophy of aesthetics.
18.
Abhinavagupta has composed a number of devotional poems, most of which have been translated into French by Lilian Silburn:.
19.
One of the most important works of Abhinavagupta is Isvarapratyabhijna-vimarsini and Isvarapratyabhijna-vivrti-vimarsini.
20.
Two more philosophical texts of Abhinavagupta are Kathamukha-tilaka and Bhedavada-vidarana.