Stvacintamani of Bhatta Narayana: The Wish-fulfilling Jewel of Praise

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The aim of the verses of the Stuacintamani is to proclaim, within the framework of bhakti mysticism, effectively the non-dualistic doctrine of Trika Shaivism. It seems that people, during the time of Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa, were still adhering to such forms of Shaivism that followed either the trajectory of dualism or of qualified non-dualism. As to why people followed the inferior forms of spirituality is because of the enactment of such a divine play of which the Lord himself plays the game of hide-and-seek, which is to say: The game of "concealment" and "revelation." It is in this context that Bhatta Narayana is compelled by the circumstances, in one of his poetic outpourings, to say the following: Lord, you do not seem to be disclosing the knowledge of thy essential nature to those who are ignorant, which is to say: Who are caught up in the web of delusion, whereas, on the other hand, you willingly are revealing the knowledge of your essential nature to those who, according to you, are deserving (v. 72). In the midst of such a situation Bhatta Nārāyaṇa holds a ray of hope when he asserts that it is the path of devotion that would enable the ignorant to have the right vision concerning the spirituality of non-dualistic form of Shaivism. He delineates the idea of devotional mysticism as being the ultimate cure for the disease called ignorance. It is this viewpoint of bhakti spirituality which permeates the devotional verses of the Stvacintamani. The Stvacintamani of Bhatta Nārāyaṇa is the first blooming flower of devotional mysticism which, on the soil of Trika Shaivism, flowered fully by spreading the sweet aroma of divine love.

Moti Lal Pandit, in the crucible of ascetic tapas, had the opportunity of studying the Trika form of Shaivism from such outstanding gurus as Dr. Baljinath Pandit and Shri Dinanath Yakṣa, and so I pay my humble homage to both of my teachers. As a result of this pursuit for divine knowledge, the author has successfully authored the following books on Kashmir Shaivism as well as on Buddhism: Essentials of Buddhist Thought; Buddhism in Perspective; Being as Becoming; Towards Transcendence; Sunyata: The Essence of Mahayana Spirituality; Buddhism: A Religion of Salvation; Encounter with Buddhism; The Buddhist Theory of Knowledge and Reality; Transcendence and Negation; The Trika Shaivism of Kashmir; The Disclosure of Being; An Introduction to the Philosophy of Trika Shaivism; The Philosophical and Practical Aspects of Kashmir Shaivism; From Dualism to Non-Dualism; The Transcendent Non-Dualism to Trika Shaivism; (trs.) The Essence of Supreme Reality or the Paramarthasara of Abhinavagupta; (trs.) The Kramastotra of Siddhanatha or The Hymn on the Time as a Process; (trs.) A Banquet of Philosophical and Devotional Hymns of Abhinavagupta; Kashmir Shaivism: A Philosophy of Being and Becoming.

It is assumed that Bhatta Narayana most probably was a contemporary of Utpalácarya, and so he must have lived approximately during 900-950 CE, which is to say: During the period when Somananda had already laid firm philosophical foundation of Kashmir Shaivism through his magnum opus, namely, the Sivadisti. Insofar as the personal life of Bhatta Narayana is concerned, we know very little, and whatever we know, it is derived from the commentary of Kşemaraja, called Vivrti, on the Stvacintamani. Ksemaraja informs us that prior to his commentary, the text of Stvacintamani already had a commentary of Sri Rama. Further he informs us that he, more or less, follows the commentary of Śri Rama while commenting on the text. We are also informed that the name of the grandfather of Bhatta Narayana was Parmeśvara. whereas the name of the father was Aparajita. The name of the mother was Daya and of the elder brother was that of Samkara. Bhatta Narayana has referred to his grandfather, father, mother and elder brother in the first three verses of the Stuacintamani. In the first verse Bhatta Narayana adores the Lord by offering worship to "Parameśvara," which is to say: to the Supreme Lord, and Parameśvara happens to be the name of the grandfather. In the second verse he pays homage to the unconquerable (aparajita) Lord, and it is through this nomenclature that Bhatta Nārāyaṇa reveals as to who his father was. In this very verse, while mentioning the five "energies" of the Lord, the poet refers to the divine energy, namely, the energy of will through the nomenclature of "Daya," which happens to be the name of his mother. In the third verse worship is offered unto Paramasiva by uttering the name of "Samkara," which happens to be the name of his brother. In this manner the poet, while offering obeisance to Paramasiva, mentions the names of his grandfather, father, mother and elder brother. It would have been difficult, nay, impossible, for us to know as to who were the members who constituted the family lineage of Bhatta Nārāyaṇa had Kşemaraja not revealed them in his commentary, namely, the Vivrti. From the information that Kṣemaraja has supplied concerning Bhatta Narayana it can safely be concluded that the composer of the Stacintamani is different from the commentator of the Mrgendra-tantra, namely, from Näräyana Kantha. This we know from the information that Nārāyaṇa Kantha has provided concerning his parentage. He tells us in his commentary that the name of his grandfather was Samkara and that of the father: Vidyapitha. If this be the case, then it is quite easy to differentiate Bhatta Narayana of Stuacintamani from Nārāyaṇa Kantha of Mrgendra-tantra.

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