there was divergence of opinion on many a point. Some writers thought it a system of philosophy teaching modified Monism and even Dualism, and, to give their ideas a free play, wrote many books. Mātanga Shāstra of Kheta Pāla is a work of this kind. It must have been due to the existence of such works that Madhavāchārya, having studied some of them, did not promulgate Shaiva Shāsana in terms of Idealistic Monism. In his Sarvadarshana Sangraha he makes mention of Pratyabhijñādarshana and gives a Dualistic interpretation to that as well ; but it is plain enough to see that the Pratyabhijñādarshana now found, teaches pure Monism. It, therefore, follows that the books he seems to have studied, must not have been those coming under the category of the Agama Shāstras.
The Dualistic interpretation of Shaiva Shāsana given by Madhavāchārya and others, seems, as said above, to be chiefly accounted for by the fact that the present volume together with many others of its kind, had, from times immemorial, been inaccessible to the literary world, inspite of many a vigorous search having been instituted for publication of rare MSS., until only very recently some of these have been collected together from various places, here, in Kashmir, to be published with a view to place this hitherto unknown Shaiva literature within the easy reach of the students of
