Rajanaka Kṣemarāja (क्षेमराज) (late 10th to early 11th century) was a philosopher disciple of Abhinavagupta, who was considered a master of tantra, yoga, poetics, and dramaturgy. Not much is known of Kṣemarāja's life or parentage. His chief disciple was a sage known as Yogāraja.

Kṣemarāja's magnum opus was the Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam ('The Heart of Self-Recognition'). In this text, Kṣemarāja explains the main tenets of the Pratyabhijñā philosophy in a succinct set of sutras for students. The work occupies the same place in Kashmir Shaivite or Trika literature as Sadananda's Vedantasara does in Advaita Vedanta.

Works

  • Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam
  • Spandasandoha
  • Spandaniraya
  • Svacchandoddyota
  • Netroddyota
  • Vijnanabhairavoddyota, a commentary on the Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra
  • Shivasūtravimarśinī, a commentary on the Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta
  • Stavacintamanitika
  • Parapraveshika
  • Tattvasandoha. Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam consists of 20 aphorisms plus a commentary by Kṣemarāja himself. Translations are given by:

Chapter 18 is also commented on by .

See also

  • Abhinavagupta
  • Vasugupta
  • Somananda
  • Utpalacarya
  • Kundalini
  • Yoga

References

Sources

<!-- S -->

Further reading

  • <!--|accessdate=2011-07-17-->
  • mahayana.org, Sanskrit text of the Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam with English translation
  • Gabriel Pradipika, Sanskrit text of the Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam with translation