The Paratrisika (or Paratrimsika) is a short Tantra which has been held in the
highest esteem by Kashmir Saivism or Trika. After Somananda, Abhinavagupta has
written two commentaries on it, a short one (Laghuvrtti) and an extensive one
the present Vivarana which is presented here for the first time in an English
translation. The Paratrisika Vivarana is one of the most fascinating but also
most difficult texts of the Kashmir Saiva School, and of the mystical
philosophical literature of India as a whole. It deals with Ultimate Reality
(anuttara or para) and with the methods of realization, centred above all in the
theory and practice of