CONTENTS PREFACE 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND ABBREVIATIONS 11 I. THE TEXT AND ITS STRUCTURE 27 1. The Text 27 2. The Structure 34 II. THEOLOGICAL-PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS OF THE PARAMASAMHITĀ 101 1. God 101 1.1. Forms of God 101 1.2. God’s Creating of the World 108 sŗşţi and saņhāra 108 1.3. God Granting Grace 118 1.4. God’s Idol in the Temple 128 2. The Soul (jīva) 129 2.1. Nature of the Soul and its Place in saņsāra 129 2.2. The Way of Salvation 132 dīkşā 132 dhyāna/yoga 153 bhakti 169 III. THE DAILY RELIGIOUS OBLIGATIONS OF THE DEVOTEE 185 1. samaya 186 2. samācāra 188 3. svādhyāya 191 4. dravyasaņgraha and śuddhi 193 5. ārādhana (yāga) 196 yāgapīţha, the sacrificial throne 204 ārādhana 207 6. stuti 211 7. dhyāna 212 8. pañcakālavidhi versus vidhir aşţadhā 215 LIST OF TRANSLATIONS FROM SANSKRIT 221 GENERAL INDEX 223