Synopsis This book explores on e of the most explicit and sophisticated the-oretical formulations of tantric yoga. It explains Abhinvagupta'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 Shivism.

The primary textual basis for the book is provided by Abhinavagupta's Paratrisika-lagbuvrtti, a short meditation menual that centers on the symbolism of the Heart-mantra, SAUH.

"Muller-Ortega's approach is good, clear, intelligent, and perceptive. The translation of the Paratrisika-laghuvritti given the appendix, being the first English translation of this short but important text, is very useful contribution to the study of Kashmir Shaivism, and so are the long and numerous quotations in the text of other works, as yet untranslated into English, of Abhinavagupta." –Andre Padoux, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris.