Abhinavagupta
Topic: Early Medieval North India: Harsha to the Rajputs · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 3 "Empires and Kingdoms: 6th to 10th Centuries"
Meaning
Abhinavagupta (c. 950–1016 CE) was a great philosopher and thinker on art from Kashmir. He was the leading teacher of Kashmir Shaivism, a school that worships Shiva and sees the world as the expression of one divine consciousness. He also wrote about rasa, the feeling or "flavour" that a poem, play or dance creates in its audience. His work shows that Kashmir was a major centre of Sanskrit learning.
Example
His Tantraloka is a large summary of Shaiva tantric practice. His Abhinavabharati is a famous commentary on Bharata's Natyashastra, the ancient text on drama. Through it, he shaped Indian ideas about rasa for centuries.