The Shiva Sutra was revealed to Vasugupta by Shiva in order to counter the effects of dualism. This revelation initiated the hermeneutics of syntheses and exegesis climaxed by the great Abhinavagupta. The Shiva Sutra is the most important scripture in the Trika system of Kashmir Shaivism. As a book on yoga, it explains the nature and cause of bondage and the means to liberation from bondage. Bhāskara is in the direct lineage of Vasugupta. To Bhāskara's commentary, Mark Dyczkowski has added his translation of an anonymous commentary as an aid to understanding Bhāskara's interpretation. This anonymous writer also serves as a bridge between Kṣemarāja's and Bhāskara's commentaries, drawing from both. The commentary on each sutra is thus in three layers. Bhāskara's commentary is first, followed by the anonymous commentary, after which Dyczkowski adds his own exposition and compares Bhāskara and Kṣemarāja. Kṣemarāja's commentary, the Vimarsini, has been translated by Jaideva Singh and published by SUNY Press under the title Siva Sutra.

The Shiva Sutra was revealed to Vasugupta by Shiva in order to counter the effects of dualism. This revelation initiated the hermeneutics of syntheses and exegesis climaxed by the great Abhinavagupta. The Shiva Sutra is the most important scripture in the Trika system of Kashmir Shaivism. As a book on yoga, it explains the nature and cause of bondage and the means to liberation from bondage. Bhāskara is in the direct lineage of Vasugupta. To Bhāskara's commentary, Mark Dyczkowski has added his translation of an anonymous commentary as an aid to understanding Bhāskara's interpretation. This anonymous writer also serves as a bridge between Kṣemarāja's and Bhāskara's commentaries, drawing from both. The commentary on each sutra is thus in three layers. Bhāskara's commentary is first, followed by the anonymous commentary, after which Dyczkowski adds his own exposition and compares Bhāskara and Kṣemarāja. Kṣemarāja's commentary, the Vimarsini, has been translated by Jaideva Singh and published by SUNY Press under the title Siva Sutra.

The Shiva Sutra was revealed to and written down by Vasugupta (ca 875--925 CE). The Sutra is considered mystical and of divine origin. For Kashmir Shaivism, it is one of the most important key sources. It outlines the teachings of Shaiva non-dualism, where the focus is on attaining the Ultimate Reality in which everything is created and dissolved. This ultimate state is called Param Shiva and is beyond description. For attaining this state of Shiva for those who remember to reside in their own inherent-self-nature, which is of the nature of Shiva, no effort or no way is needed. For everyone else there are three ways for the attainment of Param Shiva described in the Shiva Sutra. There is no strict order given for meditating on the Sutra. It depends on one's stage of evolution. Translation from the original Sanskrit with notes.

Cutting across distinctions of schools and types, the author explains the central feature of Kashmir Saivism: the creative pulse of the all-pervasive Consciousness called Siva. This is also the central theme of the Hindu Tantras, and Dyczkowski provides new insight into the most literate and extensive interpretations of the Tantras. This book is significant from four points of view. First, it breaks new ground in Indian philosophy. According to the Spanda Doctrine, the self is not simply witnessing consciousness as maintained by Sankhya and Vedanta, but is an active force. Second, the ultimate reality is not simply a logical system of abstract categories, but is living, pulsating energy, the source of all manifestation. Third, the work elaborates the dynamic aspect of consciousness. It supplies an excellent introduction to the texts and scriptures of Kashmir Saivism. Fourth, it suggests a Yoga for the realization of self.

Siva Sutras are considered to be a revealed book of Yoga: the supreme identity of the individual self with the Divine. Here an English translation of the Siva Sutras has been provided, together with an abstract of each sutra, which throws a flood of light on the entire system of Saiva Yoga. A glossary of technical terms and index are appended for the convenience of the reader. Four commentaries on Siva Sutras are available at present, the Vimarsini commentary of Ksemaraja in prose, the Siva-sutra-vrtti by some anonymous author in prose, the Siva-sutra-varttikam by Varadaraja in verse. The Siva-Sutra-vrtti is so close to Vimarsini that it appears to be either a preliminary draft or a later abstract of the Vimarsini. There is a strong presumption that the author of the Vrtti was Ksemaraja himself. For more information, please head to www.mlbd.co.in

A kite needs a string in order to fly through the sky. In a similar way, the Shiva Sutras offers threads to uplift our mind and let it soar to new heights. The Shiva Sutras describes the goal of life as: life radiating the light of inner joy. The Magic of the Shiva sutras is that each sutra is complete, offering us a way to go deeper into our own nature, which is joy. Step by step, with inimitable humor and wisdom, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar takes examples from everyday life to guide readers on this journey of innocence and love

This book explores one of the most explicit and sophisticated theoretical formulations of tantric yoga. It explains Abhinavagupta's teaching about the nature of ultimate reality, about the methods for experiencing this ultimate reality, and about the nature of the state of realization, a condition of embodied enlightenment. The author uncovers the conceptual matrix surrounding the practices of the Kaula lineage of Kashmir Shaivism. The primary textual basis for the book is provided by Abhinavagupta's Parātrīśikā-laghuvṛtti, a short meditation manual that centers on the symbolism of the Heart-mantra, SAUḤ.