Vasugupta
Encyclopedia
Vasugupta was the author of the famous Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta
. The author was believed to have amassed knowledge and recognition through direct realization. He was a native of Kashmir
and was a great devotee of Lord Shiva
. One night Shiva appeared to Vasugupta in a dream and instructed him to go to a particular place called Harvan. There in the forest of Myna he found a large rock nestled on the side of a small stream. By his mere touch the huge rock turned over and the mysteriously inscribed Shiva Sutras were revealed to Vasugupta. This rock became known as Shankar Pal or the rock of Shiva. Even today devout Kashmiri Saivas pray at the destined place. Vasugupta also wrote the Spanda Karikas as a commentary on the Shiva Sutras. He paved the way for later scholars for a cultural and religious renaissance in Kashmir which continued for four centuries till the forcible advent of Islam.
Vasugupta is the founder of the system of Hindu philosophy
known as Kashmir Shaivism
, also called Hindu
Tantra
.
Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta
Shiva Sutras are a collection of seventy seven aphorisms that form the foundation of the tradition of spiritual mysticism known as Kashmir Shaivism. They are attributed to the sage Vasugupta of the 8th century C.E....
. The author was believed to have amassed knowledge and recognition through direct realization. He was a native of Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and was a great devotee of Lord Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. One night Shiva appeared to Vasugupta in a dream and instructed him to go to a particular place called Harvan. There in the forest of Myna he found a large rock nestled on the side of a small stream. By his mere touch the huge rock turned over and the mysteriously inscribed Shiva Sutras were revealed to Vasugupta. This rock became known as Shankar Pal or the rock of Shiva. Even today devout Kashmiri Saivas pray at the destined place. Vasugupta also wrote the Spanda Karikas as a commentary on the Shiva Sutras. He paved the way for later scholars for a cultural and religious renaissance in Kashmir which continued for four centuries till the forcible advent of Islam.
Vasugupta is the founder of the system of Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...
known as Kashmir Shaivism
Kashmir Shaivism
Among the various Hindu philosophies, Kashmir Shaivism is a school of Śaivism consisting of Trika and its philosophical articulation Pratyabhijña...
, also called Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
Tantra
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
.