Avarana means a cover or concealment and is opposed to vikshepa (projection). In the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism, this concept plays a very vital role in explaining the creation of duality from the non-dual, appearance of ignorance from knowledge, and the worldly from the divine (spirit).
In Advaitic metaphysics, maya is conceived with two powers,
namely – avarana and vikshepa. These two powers are not contradictory or opposite
to each other but complementary in the creation of the cosmos. The former veils
the true nature of Brahman and the latter gives the appearance of plurality. In
shastriya prakriya (philosophization), these are treated as shaktis (powers) of
Brahman and as these powers are related with the mind, they are unitedly conceived
under on head as maya or avidya.
Maya in Advaita is not only a non-being, but by virtue of
the function of covering the real and projecting it otherwise, it is conceived
by analytic minds as real. Its negative function is specified as covering of
the real nature (avarana) and accordingly, it is called power of covering
(avarana shakti). Its positive aspect is designated as vikshepa shakti by
virtue of the functions it performs and the
two are inseparable aspects of maya (the cosmic power of Brahman) on the basis
of which alone Brahman is taken as the cause of cosmos (Adi Shankaracharya’s
commentary on the Bhagavad Gita XIII/2).
Vivarankara Prakasatman has differentiated the use of
avarana and vikshepa in the metaphysics of Advaita. There is primacy of
vikshepa in maya which creates diversity (appearance); there is primacy of avarana
in avidya as it covers the true nature of the reality. Nor creation is possible
without such a covering because in that case there will be no occasion for the appearance
of diversity if the non-dual illumines as such without any covering. Mandana Mishra
analyzes avidya as divisible into two powers – acchadika (covering) and
vikshepika (projecting), and elucidates that the former is agrahana jnana (non-apprehension)
whereas the latter is viparyaya jnana (false apprehension).
Explaining the verse 1/2/1 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Adi
Shankaracharya clearly accepts two types of veils in case of effect, jar for
instance. The first is the darkness or a curtain which blocks out our
perception of the jar. The second veil consists in the fact that the jar had
another form before it was expressed in its present form; for instance it was
present as a lump of clay. Adi Shankaracharya propounds that the cause and the
effect are both existent before production. He is of the view that the effects
were covered before their production by intelligence, just like the pot which
had another form before assuming its present shape and appearance. Similarly,
the whole cosmos was covered with mrityu, the cosmic power of intelligence
(Shankara Bhashya on Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1/2/1). Matter of fact is
observed by the seer of Isha Upanishad (hiranyamayena patrena satyasyapihitam
mukham – Isha 15). The reality is covered with golden pot. Shankara and the
other Advaitins are of the view that avidya is produced out of tamas which
imparts it its veiling capacity.
Bhartrhari in Vakyapadiya has elucidated prevention and permission
as the two aspects of the time-power. The time-concept of Bhartrhari is comparable
to the maya concept of Advaita. Creation for Bhartrhari is a constant operation
of prevention and permission by kalashakti. In Kashmir Shaivism, maya is the tenth
among the 36 elements created by Shiva. Why Kashmiri philosophers have not
accepted maya as primordial shakti and why they accept it as the tenth in the succession
of evolution is a question that is often raised. The non-dual Shiva tattva
cannot be involved in the process of creation if maya is not accepted as prior
to any process of creation.
Avarana also means enclosure and the worship in Sri Vidya of
attendant deities is called avarana puja.