Pratihara Dynasty
See Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty.
Pratijna
(“assertion”) In Indian logic, a part in the
generally accepted form of an inference
(anumana), or logical statement. The
accepted form for an inference has
three terms: an assertion (pratijna), a
reason (hetu), and examples (drshtanta).
Each of these three also has its own con-
stituent parts. The pratijna’s two con-
stituent parts are the pakshaand the
sadhya. The paksha is the subject of the
assertion and names a class of things,
while the sadhya is the claim to be
proven about that class. For example, in
the assertion “this mountain is on fire,”
the paksha is “this mountain” (the class
of things about which a claim is being
made), and the sadhya, or thing to be
proven, is “is on fire.”
Pratiloma
(“against the hair”) Forbidden marriage
union, in which the husband has lower
social status than the wife. See hypoga-
mous marriage.
Pratinidhi
(“substitute”) In the context of tantra, a
secret, ritually based religious practice,
anything that can correctly be used as a
substitute. Certain tantric rites make rit-
ual use of substances or actions that are
normally forbidden; the most famous of
these rites, the Five Forbidden Things
(panchamakara), incorporates violating
the social taboos on drinking wine, con-
suming nonvegetarian food, and engag-
ing in illicit sex. The ritual use of such
normally forbidden things must be seen
in the larger context of tantric practice.
One of the most pervasive tantric
assumptions is the ultimate unity
of everything that exists. From this
perspective, adepts affirm that
the entire universe is one principle—
often, conceived as the activity of a
particular deity—and therefore reject
all concepts based on dualistic thinking.
The “Five Forbidden Things,” therefore,
provides a ritual means for breaking
the duality of sacred and forbidden,
by sacralizing several things that are
ordinarily forbidden.
These five things are used in their
actual form in “left hand” (vamachara)
tantra, and by substitution in “right hand”
(dakshinachara) tantra. Substitution
allows the adept to perform the ritual
and at the same time to avoid the disap-
proval that would result from breaking
certain social rules. Although tantric
texts allow for substitution in this rite,
they are usually quite specific about
what sorts of things are acceptable
substitutes, a signature quality of strictly
defined ritual systems. For further infor-
mation see Swami Agehananda Bharati,
The Tantric Tradition, 1975; and Douglas
Renfrew Brooks, The Secret of the Three
Cities, 1990.Pratyabhijna
(“recognition”) Doctrine advanced by
many different schools of tantra, a
secret, ritually defined religious prac-
tice, and particularly by the Kashmiri
philosopher Abhinavagupta, the most
influential figure in Trika Shaivism. It
holds that the final realization of the
Absolute is simply a “re-cognition” of
one’s essential unity with the Divine.
This unity has always existed and has
never been altered, the only factor pre-
venting it from being clearly seen being
the obscuring power of false under-
standing. Final unity with the Divine,
therefore, comes not through doing any-
thing, but simply through realizing what
has always been the case. This doctrine
clearly shows the influence of the
Advaita Vedantaphilosophical school,
but with an important shift. The Advaita
school upholds a philosophical position
known as monism, which is the belief
that a single abstract ultimate princi-
ple—which they call Brahman—lies
behind all things, and that all things are
only particular manifestations of that
one principle. The “Recognition” schoolPratihara Dynasty