Somananda (875–925 CE) was one of the teachers of Kashmir Shaivism, in the lineage of Trayambaka, and the author of the first philosophical treatise of this school (the ). A contemporary of Bhatta Kallata, the two were the first of the Kashmiri Shaivites to propose the concepts of non-dual Shaivism in a rigorous and logical way. Somananda lived in Kashmir—most probably in Srinagar, Somananda thus claims a divine spiritual ancestry and investiture.

Somananda was the disciple of Vasugupta, another important Shaivite master and the author of the Shiva Sutras, one of the fundamental texts of non-dual Shaivism. Bhatta Kallata, author of the —another important and well-known text in the tradition—was a contemporary of Somananda's, and a fellow disciple of Vasugupta's. Each of these two disciples of Vasugupta—that is, both Somananda and Bhatta Kallata—initiated their own schools of monistic Shaivism: and , respectively.

The apparent difference between the extant texts from these rival disciples, however, is mainly to be found in the scope, or focus, of each—rather than in the essence. While Somananda's has a philosophical bent, Bhatta Kallata's is more practice-oriented, and shorter in length.

Somananda's most significant disciple was Utpaladeva. Utpaladeva wrote a number of texts to continue and develop his teacher's work, including the , of which Abhinavagupta's is a commentary; Utpaladeva also commented upon the of his teacher. Following Utpaladeva came Lakshmanagupta, and then Abhinavagupta, whose work became considered the epitome of the Kashmiri Shaivite tradition. Abhinavagupta took teachings from all the schools of Shaivism known to him—including, in the main, both that which had originated with Somananda, and that which had been initiated by Bhatta Kallata—and was said to have attained spiritual liberation himself, after which he took on the immense task of uniting all of these schools into one coherent system. Abhinavagupta's main work—in which he provides a detailed exposition of this project's results—is the . When examining opposing views, he makes an effort to understand them in their own terms, and to present them fairly; he then goes on to explain—with subtle logic—exactly how they are refuted.

Somananda was a householder, and his system was accordingly designed to be applied by people in the midst of everyday life; he rejected practices which require seclusion and the renunciation of society.

Somananda is mainly remembered as the first preceptor of the school. He defined the theoretical aspects of in his main work, the ; his son, Utpaladeva, refined and developed it, leaving the task of bringing it to completion and integrating it with the other schools of Kashmir Shaivism to the great master Abhinavagupta.

His philosophy is both idealistic-monism and theistic; Besides being all things, Shiva is also : that is, consciousness-bliss. He is in possession of an absolutely free will, , with which he creates the manifestation of all without the use of any external instruments or materials. He manifests through his powers of knowledge and action.

The notion of is central to Somananda's philosophy. The free will of Shiva is manifested as energy, called , which emanates from Shiva himself and is the stuff from which the world is created; thus—being ontologically anterior to the world—it is beyond any obstacles. When begins the process of manifestation it subdivides into a number of ontological categories or substances called tattvas, 36 in number: thus, in Somananda's doctrine, the world is considered real (rather than illusory, as generally posited by the other monistic-idealistic spiritual schools).

The written work of Somananda is not restricted to philosophical system-building, but contains also an account of the positions held by rival philosophical schools, and a series of refutations of the same. For example, Somananda disagrees with the gross realism of the system, the subtle realism of Samkhya, and the idealism of Vedanta or of the Buddhist .

Works

Somananda was the author of the first philosophical treatise on monistic Shaivism—the —a work in seven chapters. and the creation of the universe. The author expounds a theory of non-differentiation—unity of subject and object, everything being of the nature of consciousness, . A large portion of the book is dedicated to the exposition, analysis and critique of various religio-philosophical systems and ideas: the Vivarta theory of the grammarians; the Śākta approach to the ultimate reality; the nuance of the differences between the author's own approach and the principle of monism; the concept of ignorance; and the fundamental principles of all the other major spiritual schools of the time.

References

  • Bibliography of Somananda's works, Item 466 , Karl Potter, University of Washington