The Teachings of the Odd-Eyed One: A Study and Translation of the Virupaksapancasika, with the Commentary of Vidyacakravartin

This book offers the first published translation of the contemplative manual Virūpāksapa casikā, written circa the twelfth century CE, and the commentary on it, Vivrti by Vidyācakravartin. These late works from the Pratyabhij ā tradition of monistic and tantric Kashmiri Śaiva philosophy focus on means to deindividualize and disclose the primordial, divine essential natures of the human ego and body-sense.

David Peter Lawrence situates these writings in their medieval, South Asian religious and intellectual contexts. He goes on to engage Pratyabhij ā philosophical psychology in dialogue with Western religious and psychoanalytic conceptions of identity and "narcissism," and also demonstrates the Śaiva tradition's strong concern with ethics. The richly annotated translation and glossary illuminate the texts for all readers.

David Peter Lawrence is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Dakota. He is the author of Rediscovering God with Transcendental Argument: A Contemporary Interpretation of Monistic Kashmiri Såaiva Philosophy, also published by SUNY Press.