This paper explores the mechanism and metaphysics of aesthetic experience according to the 10th–11th-century Sanskrit nondual Pratyabhijñā Śaiva philosopher Abhinavagupta. It contributes to the global history of aesthetics by showing how the same mechanism, apoha (exclusion), accounts for both art appreciation and artistic creation in Abhinavagupta’s work. Examining the technical elements of this mechanism from Abhinavagupta’s metaphysical works sheds notable light on the nature of commonization (sādhāraṇī+√kṛ/bhū), a key element of Abhinavagupta’s aesthetic theory. This paper also contributes to cross-cultural aesthetic theorizing by drawing on C. Thi Nguyen’s work on agency as an artistic medium to provide a framework for contemporary philosophers of aesthetics to approach Abhinavagupta’s theory.
