Stanzas on the Divine Pulsation

स्पन्दकारिकाः

Spandakārikāḥ

by Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa (attributed to Vasugupta)

The Spandakārikās ("Stanzas on the Divine Pulsation") is one of the foundational texts of the Spanda branch of Kashmir Śaivism. Traditionally attributed in different lineages either to Vasugupta (the revealer of the Śivasūtras) or to his disciple Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa (9th century CE), the work elaborates the doctrine of spanda — the ever-present subtle vibratory pulsation of Consciousness through which Śiva-śakti unfolds, sustains, and withdraws the universe. The text is divided into four niḥṣyandas ("outflows" or sections): Svarūpaspanda (the nature of spanda — 25 vv.), Sahajavidyodaya (arising of innate knowledge — 7 vv.), Vibhūtispanda (supernatural manifestations of spanda — 19 vv.), and a concluding epilogue (1 v.), totalling 52 verses.