The Vijñānabhairava Tantra. Translation, exegetical notes. Part 1

This publication presents a translation of the first part (the opening 64 stanzas) of the Vijñānabhairava Tantra, one of the most important sources on the Indian practice of tantric yoga in the tradition of monistic Kashmir Śaivism. This text contains a summary of practical methods to achieve the ultimate goal of tantra practice—the realization of unity with the absolute, all-pervasive divine consciousness, personified in tantra by the figure of Śiva-Bhairava. This text can be considered an encyclopaedia of tantra-yogic methods presented in their essential form, abstracted from the ritual context. The translation is provided with exegetical notes necessary for understanding the text, based on traditional Sanskrit commentaries by Kṣemarāja, Shivopadhyāya and a number of other texts.