Kshemaraja

(11th c.) Kshemaraja was the primary
disciple of Abhinavagupta, the
Kashmiri writer famous for his works on
poetics and aesthetics, and a pivotal figure in the development of Trika
Shaivism. Based on a tantric philosophy, Trika Shaivism states that the sole
true reality is the god Shiva, who is both
supreme god and the source of the emanations that constitute the material of
the universe. Final liberation of the soul
(moksha) comes through a process of
“recognition” (pratyabhijna) in which
one realizes that the entire universe is
all a manifestation of Shiva alone.
Here one “recognizes” something that
has always been true, but until that
time has been obscured by a mistaken
understanding. Kshemaraja continued the development of the Trika
school. His most famous work is the
Svacchandatantra. See also tantra.