Vasugupta - author of shiva Sutra

Vasugupta is a remarkable master of Kashmiri Shivaism, namely the Pratyabhijna school.

His life

Vasugupta lived approximately from 875 to 925 AD.

There was very little information left over time about his life. It is known that he lived close to Srinagar, not far from Mount Mahadeva, in the Sadarhadvana valley of the Harvan River.

He is the founder of spanda school (of the supreme vibration).

This path (sampradaya) has as its successors Bhattasuri, Kallata, Pradyumnabhattha, his son Prajnarjuna, Mahadeva and his son Srikantha Bhatta.
The latter passed on his teaching to Bhaskara, who probably lived in the century. XI.

Meaning of name

Its name is deeply significant, vasu meaning treasure, and gupta- hidden.

Author of shiva Sutra

Vasugupta is the one who wrote Shiva Sutre, the first fundamental work of Shivaism. Some consider Vasugupta to be the founder of this tradition.

Shiva The Sutras of Vasugupta studies how man is a prisoner in illusion and how he can free himself. He also wrote
Spanda Karikas
, a commentary on his Shiva sutras.

Shiva Sutra is a collection of stoning and completely hermetic aphorisms for the uninitiated, which presents the three cardinal paths that lead to spiritual liberation:

The Way of Shiva (Shambhavopaya),
The Way of Shakti or the Way of Energy (Shaktopaya)
The path of the limited being (Anavopaya).

Vasugupta mentions that he did not write the Shiva Sutra, but found it written on a rock that rose from the water and sank again under water, after reading and memorizing what was written on it.

Theentire written Shivaite tradition (shastra) can be divided into three parts:

– Agama Shastra – regarded as a direct revelation from Shiva (God). Includes works like: Shiva Sutra, Malinivijaya Tantra, Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, etc.

– Spanda Shastra – contains the doctrinal elements of the system. The main work in this category is the work of Vasugupta – Spanda Karika.

– Pratyabhijna Shastra – contains works of metaphysical order, having a high spiritual level (being also the least accessible). In this category the most important are the works of Utpaladeva’s Ishvara Pratyabhijna and Pratyabhijna Vimarshini, a commentary of the first. There are several important schools of Shivaism, the most elevated being grouped in the Trika system.
The word “trika” in Sanskrit means “trinity” or “trinity“, suggesting the essential idea that absolutely everything has a triple nature.
This trinity is expressed through: Shiva (God), Shakti (His fundamental creative energy) and Anu (the individual, the limited projection of the deity).

Kallata, his main disciple, was the one who spread the Shiva Sutra.

His disciples Kallata and Somananda continued to write texts on spirituality somewhere between 825 and 900 d.Hr.