Abstract
This paper discusses the meaning of an image rarely used within the religious and philosophical corpus of ancient India in order to describe the ultimate nature of God and the human being: a wall or canvas (Sanskrit, bhitti). The usage of such a peculiar image belongs to Abhinavagupta, the great exegete of the Tantric tradition who lived in Kashmir between the tenth and eleventh centuries A.D. After presenting some antecedents, the paper focuses on key passages taken fromAbhinavagupta’s work and shows how, far from being secondary, the image of a wall possesses a remarkable consistency and expressive power in accordance withAbhinavagupta’s doctrinal presuppositions, in particular his commitment to a dynamic and ultimately paradoxical view of the divine realm, the universe and salvation.
Highlights
Abhinavagupta vivió entre los siglos X y XI en Cachemira, por entonces la capital intelectual de la India
This paper discusses the meaning of an image rarely used within the religious
philosophical corpus of ancient India in order to describe the ultimate nature of God
Summary
Abhinavagupta vivió entre los siglos X y XI en Cachemira, por entonces la capital intelectual de la India. Luto emite sin cesar un torrente de finísimos filamentos incandescentes (ullāsa, sphuraṇa, etc.), que gradualmente se transforman en pensamiento, emoción y materia, realidades también apreciadas según su inherente naturaleza luminosa (ābhāsa).[1] Las imágenes y metáforas asociadas con el sonido, así como con la actividad sexual y en general con diversos procesos corporales, no son menos importantes, y a menudo se entrecruzan y confunden con el rico y complejo simbolismo de la luz.[2] Mucho menos conspicua en el corpus abhinavaguptiano, y una verdadera rareza dentro de la literatura especulativa de la India antigua, es la noción de «muro» (sánscrito bhitti), tema de este artículo
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