Tantra - Wikipedia

5/14/24, 12:18 PM Tantra - Wikipedia
Tantra
Tantric art. Clockwise from upper left: Vajrayogini (Buddhist), Sri Yantra (Hindu), Kalachakra Mandala and
Chakra illustration.
Tantra (/ˈtæntrə/; Sanskrit: तन्त्र, lit. 'expansion-device, salvation-spreader; loom, weave, warp') is
an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st
millennium CE onwards in both Hinduism and Buddhism.[1]
The term tantra, in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text,
theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice".[2][3] A key feature of these traditions is
the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra")
in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in
Buddhism.[4][5]
In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based
on Indian Buddhist Tantras.[6] They include Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism,
Japanese Shingon Buddhism and Nepalese Newar Buddhism. Although Southern Esoteric
Buddhism does not directly reference the tantras, its practices and ideas parallel them. In
Buddhism, tantra has influenced the art and iconography of Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism, as
well as historic cave temples of India and the art of Southeast Asia.[7][8][9]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantra 1/37
Tantric Hindu and Buddhist traditions have also influenced other Eastern religious traditions such
as Jainism, the Tibetan Bön tradition, Daoism, and the Japanese Shintō tradition.[10] Certain
modes of non-Vedic worship such as Puja are considered tantric in their conception and rituals.
Hindu temple building also generally conforms to the iconography of tantra.[note 1][11] Hindu texts
describing these topics are called Tantras, Āgamas or Samhitās.[12][13]
Etymology
Tantra (Sanskrit: तन्त्र) literally means "loom, warp, weave".[14][2][15] According to Padoux, the
verbal root Tan means: "to extend", "to spread", "to spin out", "weave", "display", "put forth", and
"compose". Therefore, by extension, it can also mean "system", "doctrine", or "work".[16]
The connotation of the word tantra to mean an esoteric practice or religious ritualism is a colonial
era European invention.[17][18][19] This term is based on the metaphor of weaving, states Ron
Barrett, where the Sanskrit root tan means the warping of threads on a loom.[2] It implies
"interweaving of traditions and teachings as threads" into a text, technique or practice.[2][15]
The word appears in the hymns of the Rigveda such as in 10.71, with the meaning of "warp
(weaving)".[14] It is found in many other Vedic era texts, such as in section 10.7.42 of the
Atharvaveda and many Brahmanas.[14][20] In these and post-Vedic texts, the contextual meaning
of Tantra is that which is "principal or essential part, main point, model, framework, feature".[14]
In the Smritis and epics of Hinduism (and Jainism), the term means "doctrine, rule, theory,
method, technique or chapter" and the word appears both as a separate word and as a common
suffix, such as atma-tantra meaning "doctrine or theory of Atman (Self)".[14][20]
The term "Tantra" after about 500 BCE, in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism is a bibliographic
category, just like the word Sutra (which means "sewing together", mirroring the metaphor of
"weaving together" in Tantra). The same Buddhist texts are sometimes referred to as tantra or
sutra; for example, Vairocabhisambodhi-tantra is also referred to as Vairocabhisambodhi-
sutra.[21] The various contextual meanings of the word Tantra vary with the Indian text and are
summarized in the appended table.
Appearance of the term "Tantra" in Indian texts [hide]
Period[note 2] Text or author Contextual meaning of tantra
1700–1100
BCE
Ṛigveda X, 71.9 Loom (or weaving device)[22]
Essence (or "main part", perhaps

1700-? BCE Sāmaveda, Tandya Brahmana denoting the quintessence of the
Sastras)[22]
1200-900
BCE
Atharvaveda X, 7.42 Loom (or weaving)[22]
1400-1000
BCE
Yajurveda, Taittiriya Brahmana 11.5.5.3 Loom (or weaving)[22]
600-500 BCE Pāṇini in Aṣṭādhyāyī 1.4.54 and 5.2.70 Warp (weaving), loom[23]
pre-500 BCE Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa Essence (or main part; see above)[22]
350-283 BCE Chanakya on Arthaśāstra Science;[24] system or shastra[25]

Doctrine (identifies Sankhya as a
300 CE Īśvarakṛṣṇa author of Sānkhya Kārikā (kārikā 70)
tantra)[26]
320 CE Viṣṇu Purāṇa Practices and rituals[27]

Deep understanding or mastery of a
320-400 CE Poet Kālidāsa on Abhijñānaśākuntalam
topic[note 3]
Worship techniques (Tantrodbhuta)[28]

423 Gangdhar stone inscription in Rajasthan
Dubious link to Tantric practices.[29]
Sabarasvamin's commentary on Mimamsa Sutra Thread, text;[30] beneficial action or

550
11.1.1, 11.4.1 etc. thing[25]
Chinese Buddhist canon (Vol. 18–21: Tantra
500-600 Set of doctrines or practices
(Vajrayāna) or Tantric Buddhism[note 4]
Extensive knowledge of principles of
600 Kāmikāgama or Kāmikā-tantra
reality[31]
Sanskrit scholar and poet Bāṇabhaṭṭa (in
Set of sites and worship methods to
606–647 Harṣacarita[note 5] and in Kādambari), in Bhāsa's
goddesses or Matrikas.[28][32]
Cārudatta and in Śūdraka's Mṛcchakatika
Set of doctrines or practices, teachings,
975–1025 Philosopher Abhinavagupta in his Tantrāloka texts, system (sometimes called
Agamas)[33][15]
1150–1200 Jayaratha, Abhinavagupta's commentator on Tantrāloka Set of doctrines or practices, teachings
System of thought or set of doctrines or

1690–1785 Bhaskararaya (philosopher)
practices, a canon[34]
Definition
Ancient and medieval era

The 5th-century BCE scholar Pāṇini in his Sutra 1.4.54–55 of Sanskrit grammar, cryptically
explains tantra through the example of "Sva-tantra" (Sanskrit: स्वतन्त्र), which he states means
"independent" or a person who is his own "warp, cloth, weaver, promoter, karta (actor)".[23]
Patanjali in his Mahābhāṣya quotes and accepts Panini's definition, then discusses or mentions it
at a greater length, in 18 instances, stating that its metaphorical definition of "warp (weaving),
extended cloth" is relevant to many contexts.[35] The word tantra, states Patanjali, means
"principal, main".
He uses the same example of svatantra as a composite word of "sva" (self) and tantra, then stating
"svatantra" means "one who is self-dependent, one who is his own master, the principal thing for
whom is himself", thereby interpreting the definition of tantra.[23] Patanjali also offers a semantic
definition of Tantra, stating that it is structural rules, standard procedures, centralized guide or
knowledge in any field that applies to many elements.[35]
Starting in the early centuries of the common era, newly revealed Tantras centering on Vishnu,
Shiva or Shakti emerged.[36] There are tantric lineages in all main forms of modern Hinduism,
such as the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, the Shakta sect of Shri Vidya, the Kaula, and Kashmir
Shaivism.
The ancient Mimamsa school of Hinduism uses the term tantra extensively, and its scholars offer
various definitions. For example:
When an action or a thing, once complete, becomes beneficial in several matters to one
person, or to many people, that is known as Tantra. For example, a lamp placed amidst
many priests. In contrast, that which benefits by its repetition is called Āvāpa, such as
massaging with oil. (...)
— Sabara, 6th century, [25][37]
Medieval texts present their own definitions of Tantra. Kāmikā-tantra, for example, gives the
following explanation of the term tantra:
Because it elaborates (tan) copious and profound matters, especially relating to the
principles of reality (tattva) and sacred mantras, and because it provides liberation (tra),
it is called a tantra.[31]
Modern era
The occultist and businessman Pierre Bernard (1875–1955) is widely credited with introducing the
philosophy and practices of tantra to the American people, at the same time creating a somewhat
misleading impression of its connection to sex.[38] That popular sexualization is more accurately
regarded as the western Neo-Tantra movement.
In modern scholarship, Tantra has been studied as an esoteric practice and ritualistic religion,
sometimes referred to as Tantrism. There is a wide gap between what Tantra means to its
followers, and the way Tantra has been represented or perceived since colonial era writers began
commenting on it.[39]
Many definitions of Tantra have been proposed since, and there is no universally accepted
definition.[40] André Padoux, in his review of Tantra definitions offers two, then rejects both. One
definition, according to Padoux, is found among Tantra practitioners – it is any "system of
observances" about the vision of man and the cosmos where correspondences between the inner
world of the person and the macrocosmic reality play an essential role. Another definition, more
common among observers and non-practitioners, is some "set of mechanistic rituals, omitting
entirely the ideological side".[41]
Tantric traditions have been studied mostly from textual and historical perspectives.
Anthropological work on living Tantric tradition is scarce, and ethnography has rarely engaged
with the study of Tantra. This is arguably a result of the modern construction of Tantrism as occult,
esoteric and secret. Some scholars have tried to demystify the myth of secrecy in contemporary
Tantric traditions, suggesting new methodological avenues to overcome the ethical and
epistemological problems in the study of living Tantric traditions.[42]
According to David N. Lorenzen, two different kinds of definitions of Tantra exist, narrow and
broad.[13] According to the narrow definition, Tantrism, or "Tantric religion", is the elite traditions
directly based on the Sanskrit texts called the Tantras, Samhitas, and Agamas.[13][43] Lorenzen's
"broad definition" extends this by including a broad range of "magical beliefs and practices" such
as Yoga and Shaktism.[43][44]
The term "yoga" is broadly attributed to many traditions and practices, including the western
assumption that yoga is synonymous with physical stretching and little more. The Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali define yoga as "the stilling of the disturbances of the mind".[45] Richard Payne states that
Tantra has been commonly but incorrectly associated with sex, given popular culture's prurient
obsession with intimacy. Tantra has been labelled as the "yoga of ecstasy", driven by senseless
ritualistic libertinism.[21] This is far from the diverse and complex understanding of what Tantra
means to those Buddhists, Hindu and Jains who practice it.[21]
David Gray disagrees with broad generalizations and states that defining Tantra is a difficult task
because "Tantra traditions are manifold, spanning several religious traditions and cultural worlds.
As a result they are also diverse, which makes it a significant challenge to come up with an
adequate definition".[46] The challenge of defining Tantra is compounded by the fact that it has
been a historically significant part of major Indian religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism and
Jainism, both in and outside South Asia and East Asia.[47] To its practitioners, Tantra is defined as
a combination of texts, techniques, rituals, monastic practices, meditation, yoga, and ideology.[48]
According to Georg Feuerstein,
The scope of topics discussed in the Tantras is considerable. They deal with the creation
and history of the world; the names and functions of a great variety of male and female
deities and other higher beings; the types of ritual worship (especially of Goddesses);
magic, sorcery, and divination; esoteric "physiology" (the mapping of the subtle or psychic
body); the awakening of the mysterious serpent power (kundalinî-shakti); techniques of
bodily and mental purification; the nature of enlightenment; and not least, sacred
sexuality.[49]
Hindu puja, temples and iconography all show tantric influence.[note 1] These texts, states Gavin
Flood, contain representation of "the body in philosophy, in ritual and in art", which are linked to
"techniques of the body, methods or technologies developed within the tantric traditions intended
to transform body and self".[50]
Tantrism
The term tantrism is a 19th-century European invention not present in any Asian language; [18]
compare "Sufism", of similar Orientalist origin. According to Padoux, Tantrism is a Western term
and notion, not a category that is used by Tantrikas themselves.[17] The term was introduced by
19th-century Indologists, with limited knowledge of India and in whose view Tantrism was a
particular, unusual and minority practice in contrast to Indian traditions they believed to be
mainstream.[17]
Elements of Tantrism. Clockwise from upper left: Mantra (Buddhist), Mandala (Hindu), Yantra (of Kali), Skull cup
(Kapala), Nadis and Chakras (Tibetan), Deities depicted in sexual union. These are neither compulsory nor
universal in Tantrism.[51]
Robert Brown similarly notes that "tantrism" is a construct of Western scholarship, not a concept
of the religious system itself.[52] He defines Tantrism as an apologetic label of Westerners for a
system that they little understand that is "not coherent" and which is "an accumulated set of
practices and ideas from various sources, that has varied between its practitioners within a group,
varied across groups, across geography and over its history". It is a system, adds Brown, that gives
each follower the freedom to mix Tantric elements with non-Tantric aspects, to challenge and
transgress any and all norms, experiment with "the mundane to reach the supramundane".[40]
Teun Goudriaan in his 1981 review of Hindu Tantrism, states that Tantrism usually means a
"systematic quest for salvation or spiritual excellence" by realizing and fostering the divine within
one's own body, one that is simultaneous union of the masculine-feminine and spirit-matter, and
has the ultimate goal of realizing the "primal blissful state of non-duality".[53] It is typically a
methodically striven system, consisting of voluntarily chosen specific practices which may include
Tantric items such as mantras (bijas), geometric patterns and symbols (mandala), gestures
(mudra), mapping of the microcosm within one's body to the macrocosmic elements outside as the
subtle body (kundalini yoga), assignments of icons and sounds (nyasa), meditation (dhyana),
ritual worship (puja), initiation (diksha) and others.[54] Tantrism, adds Goudriaan, is a living
system that is decidedly monistic, but with wide variations, and it is impossible to be dogmatic
about a simple or fixed definition.[55]
Tantrism is an overarching term for "Tantric traditions", states David Gray in a 2016 review, that
combine Vedic, yogic and meditative traditions from ancient Hinduism as well as rival Buddhist
and Jain traditions.[39] it is a neologism of western scholars and does not reflect the self-
understanding of any particular tantric tradition. While Goudriaan's description is useful, adds
Gray, there is no single defining universal characteristic common to all Tantra traditions, being an
open evolving system.[19] Tantrism, whether Buddhist or Hindu, can best be characterized as
practices, a set of techniques, with a strong focus on rituals and meditation, by those who believe
that it is a path to liberation that is characterized by both knowledge and freedom.[56]
Tantrika
According to Padoux, the term "Tantrika" is based on a comment by Kulluka Bhatta on Manava
Dharmasastra 2.1, who contrasted vaidika and tantrika forms of Sruti (canonical texts). The
Tantrika, to Bhatta, is that literature which forms a parallel part of the Hindu tradition,
independent of the Vedic corpus. The Vedic and non-Vedic (Tantric) paths are seen as two
different approaches to ultimate reality, the Vedic approach based on Brahman, and Tantrika
being based on the non-Vedic Āgama texts.[57] Despite Bhatta attempt to clarify, states Padoux, in
reality Hindus and Buddhists have historically felt free to borrow and blend ideas from all sources,
Vedic, non-Vedic and in the case of Buddhism, its own canonical works.[58]
One of the key differences between the Tantric and non-Tantric traditions – whether it be orthodox
Buddhism, Hinduism or Jainism – is their assumptions about the need for monastic or ascetic
life.[59] Non-Tantrika, or orthodox traditions in all three major ancient Indian religions, hold that
the worldly life of a householder is one driven by desires and greeds which are a serious
impediment to spiritual liberation (moksha, nirvana, kaivalya). These orthodox traditions teach
renunciation of householder life, a mendicant's life of simplicity and leaving all attachments to
become a monk or nun. In contrast, the Tantrika traditions hold, states Robert Brown, that "both
enlightenment and worldly success" are achievable, and that "this world need not be shunned to
achieve enlightenment".[59][60] Yet, even this supposed categorical divergence is debatable, e.g.
Bhagavad Gita v.2:48-53, including: "Yoga is skill in [the performance of] actions."[61]
History
Proto-Tantric elements in Vedic religion

The Keśin hymn of the Rig Veda (10.136) describes the "wild loner" who, states Karel Werner,
"carrying within oneself fire and poison, heaven and earth, ranging from enthusiasm and creativity
to depression and agony, from the heights of spiritual bliss to the heaviness of earth-bound
labor".[62] The Rigveda uses words of admiration for these loners,[62] and whether it is related to
Tantra or not, has been variously interpreted. According to David Lorenzen, it describes munis
(sages) experiencing Tantra-like "ecstatic, altered states of consciousness" and gaining the ability
"to fly on the wind".[63] In contrast, Werner suggests that these are early Yoga pioneers and
accomplished yogis of the ancient pre-Buddhist Indian tradition, and that this Vedic hymn is
speaking of those "lost in thoughts" whose "personalities are not bound to earth, for they follow the
path of the mysterious wind".[62]
The two oldest Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad in section
4.2 and Chandogya Upanishad in section 8.6, refer to nadis (hati) in presenting their theory on
how the Atman (Self) and the body are connected and interdependent through energy carrying
arteries when one is awake or sleeping, but they do not mention anything related to Tantric
practices.[64] The Shvetashvatara Upanishad describes breath control that became a standard part
of Yoga, but Tantric practices do not appear in it.[63][65] Likewise, the Taittiriya Upanishad
discusses a central channel running through the body and various Vedic texts mention the bodily
pranas (vital breaths) that move around in the body and animate it. However, the idea of
consciously moving the bodily pranas through yoga is not found in these sources.[66] According to
Lorenzen, Vedic ideas related to the body later diversified into the "mystical anatomy" of nadis and
chakras found in Tantra.[67] The yogic component of Tantrism appears clearly in Bāṇabhaṭṭa's
Harshacharita and Daṇḍin's Dashakumaracharita.[68] In contrast to this theory of Lorenzen,
other scholars such as Mircea Eliade consider Yoga and the evolution of Yogic practices to be
separate and distinct from the evolution of Tantra and Tantric practices.[69]
According to Geoffrey Samuel, the inner development of a spiritual energy called tapas becomes a
central element of Vedic religion in the Brahmanas and Srauta texts. In these texts, ascetic
practices allow a holy man to build up tapas, a kind of magical inner heat, which allows them to
perform all sorts of magical feats as well as granting visions and divine revelations.[70] Samuel also
notes that in the Mahabharata, one of the commonest use of the term "yoga" refers to "a dying
warrior transferring himself at death to the sphere of the sun through yoga, a practice that links up
with Upanisadic references to the channel to the crown of the head as the pathway by which one
can travel through the solar orb to the World of Brahman." This practice of transferring one's
consciousness at death is still an important practice in Tibetan Buddhism.[71] Samuel also notes
that sexual rituals and a spiritualized sexuality are mentioned in the late Upanishads. According to
Samuel, "late Vedic texts treat sexual intercourse as symbolically equivalent to the Vedic sacrifice,
and ejaculation of semen as the offering." This theme can be found in the Jaiminiya Brahmana,
the Chandogya Upanisad, and the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad. The Brhadaranyaka contains
various sexual rituals and practices which are mostly aimed at obtaining a child which are
concerned with the loss of male virility and power.[72]
David Gordon White views Yogini cults as foundational to early tantra but disagrees with scholars
who maintain that the roots of such cults lie in an "autochthonous non-Vedic source" such as
indigenous tribes or the Indus Valley civilization.[73] Instead, White suggests Vedic Srauta texts
mention offerings to goddesses Rākā, Sinīvālī, and Kuhū in a manner similar to a tantric ritual.[74]
Frederick Smith – a professor of Sanskrit and Classical Indian Religions, considers Tantra to be a
religious movement parallel to the Bhakti movement of the 1st millennium AD.[75] Tantra along
with Ayurveda, states Smith, has traditionally been attributed to Atharvaveda, but this attribution
is one of respect not of historicity. Ayurveda has primarily been an empirical practice with Vedic
roots, but Tantra has been an esoteric, folk movement without grounding that can be traced to
anything in Atharvaveda or any other vedic text.[75]
Proto-Tantric elements in Buddhism

Pre-tantric Buddhism contains elements which could be seen as proto-tantric, and which may have
influenced the development of the Buddhist Tantric tradition. The use of magical chants or
incantations can be found in the early Buddhist texts as well as in some Mahayana sutras.[76] These
magical spells or chants were used for various reasons, such as for protection, and for the
generation of auspiciousness.[77] Mahayana incantations are called dhāraṇīs. Some Mahayana
sutras incorporate the use of mantras, a central feature of tantric practice.
According to Geoffrey Samuel, sramana groups like the

Buddhists and Jains were associated with the dead. Samuel
notes that they "frequently settled at sites associated with the
dead and seem to have taken over a significant role in relation
to the spirits of the dead." To step into this realm required
entering a dangerous and impure supernatural realm from the
Indian perspective. This association with death remains a
feature of modern Buddhism, and in Buddhist countries today,
Buddhist monks and other ritual specialists are in charge of the
dead.[78] Thus, the association of tantric practitioners with
A Buddhist dhāraṇī (incantation), the
charnel grounds and death imagery is preceded by early
Nilaṇṭhanāmahṛdaya dhāraṇī, in
Buddhist contact with these sites of the dead.
Siddham Script with Chinese
transliteration
Some scholars think that the development of tantra may have
been influenced by the cults of nature spirit-deities like Yakṣas
and Nagas.[79] Yakṣa cults were an important part of early
Buddhism. Yakṣas are powerful nature spirits which were
sometimes seen as guardians or protectors.[80] Yakṣas like
Kubera are also associated with magical incantations. Kubera is
said to have provided the Buddhist sangha with protection
spells in the Āṭānāṭiya Sutta.[81] These spirit deities also
included numerous female deities (yakṣiṇī) that can be found
depicted in major Buddhist sites like Sanchi and Bharhut. In
early Buddhist texts there is also mention of fierce demon like
deities called rākṣasa and rākṣasī, like the children-eating
Hārītī.[82] They are also present in Mahayana texts, such as in
Chapter 26 of the Lotus Sutra which includes a dialogue
between the Buddha and a group of rākṣasīs, who swear to
uphold and protect the sutra. These figures also teach magical
dhāraṇīs to protect followers of the Lotus Sutra.[83]
A key element of Buddhist Tantric practice is the visualization

of deities in meditation. This practice is actually found in pre-
tantric Buddhist texts as well. In Mahayana sutras like the
Pratyutpanna Samādhi and the three Amitabha Pure land Kushan sculpture of a yakṣiṇī (2nd
sutras. [84] There are other Mahāyāna sutras which contain century), Mathura region
what may be called "proto-tantric" material such as the
Gandavyuha and the Dasabhumika which might have served
as a source for the imagery found in later Tantric texts.[85] According to Samuel, the Golden Light
Sutra (c. 5th century at the latest) contains what could be seen as a proto-mandala. In the second
chapter, a bodhisattva has a vision of "a vast building made of beryl and with divine jewels and
celestial perfumes. Four lotus-seats appear in the four directions, with four Buddhas seated upon
them: Aksobhya in the East, Ratnaketu in the South, Amitayus in the West and Dundubhīśvara in
the North."[86]
A series of artwork discovered in Gandhara, in modern-day Pakistan, dating from about the 1st
century CE, show Buddhist and Hindu monks holding skulls.[87] The legend corresponding to
these artworks is found in Buddhist texts, and describes monks "who tap skulls and forecast the
future rebirths of the person to whom that skull belonged".[87][88] According to Robert Brown,
these Buddhist skull-tapping reliefs suggest that tantric practices may have been in vogue by the
1st century CE.[87]
Proto-Tantric elements in Shaktism and Shaivism

The Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, and the Devi Mahatmya in
the Markandeya Purana all mention the fierce, demon-killing
manifestations of the Great Goddess, Mahishamardini,
identified with Durga-Parvati.[89] These suggest that Shaktism,
reverence and worship for the Goddess in Indian culture, was
an established tradition by the early centuries of the 1st
millennium.[90] Padoux mentions an inscription from 423 to
424 CE which mentions the founding of a temple to terrifying
deities called "the mothers".[91] However, this does not mean
Tantric rituals and practices were as yet a part of either Hindu
or Buddhist traditions. "Apart from the somewhat dubious
reference to Tantra in the Gangadhar inscription of 423 CE",
states David Lorenzen, it is only 7th-century Banabhatta's
Kadambari which provide convincing proof of Tantra and
Tantric texts.[29]
Shaivite ascetics seem to have been involved in the initial A modern aghori with a skull-cup
development of Tantra, particularly the transgressive elements (Kapala). Their predecessors, the
medieval Kapalikas ("Skull-men")
dealing with the charnel ground. According to Samuel, one
were influential figures in the
group of Shaiva ascetics, the Pasupatas, practiced a form of development of transgressive or "left
spirituality that made use of shocking and disreputable hand" Shaiva tantra.
behavior later found in a tantric context, such as dancing,
singing, and smearing themselves with ashes.[92]
Early Tantric practices are sometimes attributed to Shaiva ascetics associated with Bhairava, the
Kapalikas ("skull men", also called Somasiddhatins or Mahavartins).[93][94][95] Besides the
shocking fact that they frequented cremation grounds and carried human skulls, little is known
about them, and there is a paucity of primary sources on the Kapalikas.[96][95] Samuel also states
that the sources depict them as using alcohol and sex freely, that they were associated with
terrfying female spirit-deities called yoginis and dakinis, and that they were believed to possess
magical powers, such as flight.[97]
Kapalikas are depicted in fictional works and also widely disparaged in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain
texts of the 1st millennium CE.[96][98] In Hāla's Gatha-saptasati (composed by the 5th century
AD), for example, the story calls a female character Kapalika, whose lover dies, he is cremated, she
takes his cremation ashes and smears her body with it.[94] The 6th-century Varāhamihira
mentions Kapalikas in his literary works.[98] Some of the Kāpālika practices mentioned in these
texts are those found in Shaiva Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism, and scholars disagree on who
influenced whom.[99][100]
These early historical mentions are in passing and appear to be Tantra-like practices, they are not
detailed nor comprehensive presentation of Tantric beliefs and practices. Epigraphic references to
the Kaulas Tantric practices are rare. Reference is made in the early 9th century to vama (left-
hand) Tantras of the Kaulas.[101] Literary evidence suggests Tantric Buddhism was probably
flourishing by the 7th century.[63]

Matrikas, or fierce mother goddesses that later are closely linked
to Tantra practices, appear both in Buddhist and Hindu arts and literature between the 7th and
10th centuries.[102]
Rise and development

According to Gavin Flood, the earliest date for the Tantra texts
related to Tantric practices is 600 CE, though most of them
were probably composed after the 8th century onwards.[103]
According to Flood, very little is known about who created the
Tantras, nor much is known about the social status of these and
medieval era Tantrikas.[104]
Flood states that the pioneers of Tantra may have been ascetics
who lived at the cremation grounds, possibly from "above low-
caste groups", and were probably non-Brahmanical and
possibly part of an ancient tradition.[105][106][107] By the early
medieval times, their practices may have included the imitation
of deities such as Kali and Bhairava, with offerings of non-
vegetarian food, alcohol and sexual substances. According to
this theory, these practitioners would have invited their deities
to enter them, then reverted the role in order to control that
deity and gain its power.[104] These ascetics would have been Dancing Bhairava in the Indian
supported by low castes living at the cremation places.[104] Museum, Kolkata
Samuel states that transgressive and antinomian tantric

practices developed in both Buddhist and Brahmanical (mainly
Śaiva ascetics like the Kapalikas) contexts and that "Śaivas and
Buddhists borrowed extensively from each other, with varying
degrees of acknowledgement." According to Samuel, these
deliberately transgressive practices included, "night time orgies
in charnel grounds, involving the eating of human flesh, the use
of ornaments, bowls and musical instruments made from
human bones, sexual relations while seated on corpses, and the
like."[108]
According to Samuel, another key element of in the

development of tantra was "the gradual transformation of local
and regional deity cults through which fierce male and,
particularly, female deities came to take a leading role in the
place of the yaksa deities." Samuel states that this took place Dancing Vajravārāhī, a Buddhist
between the fifth to eighth centuries CE. [109] According to tantric deity, Nepal, 11th–12th
Samuel, there are two main scholarly opinions on these century
terrifying goddesses which became incorporated into Śaiva and

Buddhist Tantra. The first view is that they originate out of a
pan-Indian religious substrate that was not Vedic. Another opinion is to see these fierce goddesses
as developing out of the Vedic religion.[110]
Alexis Sanderson has argued that tantric practices originally

developed in a Śaiva milieu and was later adopted by
Buddhists. He cites numerous elements that are found in the
Śaiva Vidyapitha literature, including whole passages and lists
of pithas, that seem to have been directly borrowed by
Vajrayana texts.[111] This has been criticized by Ronald M.
Davidson however, due to the uncertain date of the Vidyapitha
texts.[112] Davidson argues that the pithas seem to have been
neither uniquely Buddhist nor Śaiva, but frequented by both
groups. He also states that the Śaiva tradition was also involved
in the appropriation of local deities and that tantra may have
been influenced by tribal Indian religions and their deities.[113]
Samuel writes that "the female divinities may well best be
understood in terms of a distinct Śākta milieu from which both
Śaivas and Buddhists were borrowing",[114] but that other
elements, like the Kapalika style practices, are more clearly
derived from a Śaiva tradition.[114]
Illustration of a yogi and their
Samuel writes that the Saiva Tantra tradition appears to have
chakras
originated as ritual sorcery carried out by hereditary caste
groups (kulas) and associated with sex, death and fierce
goddesses. The initiation rituals involved the consumption of
the mixed sexual secretions (the clan essence) of a male guru
and his consort. These practices were adopted by Kapalika
styled ascetics and influenced the early Nath siddhas. Over
time, the more extreme external elements were replaced by
internalized yogas that make use of the subtle body. Sexual
ritual became a way to reach the liberating wisdom taught in
the tradition.[115] Buddhist Mahasiddhas practicing
the sexual yoga of karmamudrā
The Buddhists developed their own corpus of Tantras, which ("action seal")
also drew on various Mahayana doctrines and practices, as well
as on elements of the fierce goddess tradition and also on
elements from the Śaiva traditions (such as deities like Bhairava, which were seen as having been
subjugated and converted to Buddhism).[103][116] Some Buddhist tantras (sometimes called "lower"
or "outer" tantras) which are earlier works, do not make use of transgression, sex and fierce deities.
These earlier Buddhist tantras mainly reflect a development of Mahayana theory and practice (like
deity visualization) and a focus on ritual and purity.[117] Between the eighth and tenth centuries,
new tantras emerged which included fierce deities, kula style sexual initiations, subtle body
practices and sexual yoga. The later Buddhist tantras are known as the "inner" or "unsurpassed
yoga" (Anuttarayoga or "Yogini") tantras. According to Samuel, it seems that these sexual
practices were not initially practiced by Buddhist monastics and instead developed outside of the
monastic establishments among traveling siddhas.[118]
Tantric practices also included secret initiation ceremonies in which individuals would enter the
tantric family (kula) and receive the secret mantras of the tantric deities. These initiations included
the consumption of the sexual substances (semen and female sexual secretions) produced through
ritual sex between the guru and his consort. These substances were seen as spiritually powerful
and were also used as offerings for tantric deities.[119] For both Śaivas and Buddhists, tantric
practices often took place at important sacred sites (pithas) associated with fierce goddesses.[120]
Samuel writes that "we do not have a clear picture of how this network of pilgrimage sites arose."
Whatever the case, it seems that it was in these ritual spaces visited by both Buddhists and Śaivas
that the practice of Kaula and Anuttarayoga Tantra developed during the eighth and ninth
centuries.[121] Besides the practices outlined above, these sites also saw the practice of animal
sacrifice as blood offerings to Śākta goddesses like Kamakhya. This practice is mentioned in Śākta
texts like the Kālikāpurāṇa and the Yoginītantra. In some of these sites, such as Kamakhya Pitha,
animal sacrifice is still widely practiced by Śāktas.[122]
Another key and innovative feature of medieval tantric systems was the development of internal
yogas based on elements of the subtle body (sūkṣma śarīra). This subtle anatomy held that there
were channels in the body (nadis) through which certain substances or energies (such as vayu,
prana, kundalini, and shakti) flowed. These yogas involved moving these energies through the
body to clear out certain knots or blockages (granthi) and to direct the energies to the central
channel (avadhuti, sushumna). These yogic practices are also closely related to the practice of
sexual yoga, since sexual intercourse was seen as being involved in the stimulation of the flow of
these energies.[123] Samuel thinks that these subtle body practices may have been influenced by
Chinese Daoist practices.[124]
One of the earliest mentions of sexual yoga practice is in the Buddhist Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra of
Asanga (c. 5th century), which states "Supreme self-control is achieved in the reversal of sexual
intercourse in the blissful Buddha-poise and the untrammelled vision of one's spouse."[125]
According to David Snellgrove, the text's mention of a 'reversal of sexual intercourse' might
indicate the practice of withholding ejaculation. Snellgrove states that it is possible that sexual
yoga was already being practiced in Buddhist circles at this time, and that Asanga saw it as a valid
practice.[126] Likewise, Samuel thinks that there is a possibility that sexual yoga existed in the
fourth or fifth centuries (though not in the same transgressive tantric contexts where it was later
practiced).[127]
It is only in the seventh and eighth centuries however that we find substantial evidence for these
sexual yogas. Unlike previous Upanishadic sexual rituals however, which seem to have been
associated with Vedic sacrifice and mundane ends like childbirth, these sexual yogas were
associated with the movement of subtle body energies (like Kundalini and Chandali, which were
also seen as goddesses), and also with spiritual ends.[128] These practices seemed to have
developed at around the same time in both Saiva and Buddhist circles, and are associated with
figures such as Tirumülar, Gorakhnath, Virupa, Naropa. The tantric mahasiddhas developed yogic
systems with subtle body and sexual elements which could lead to magical powers (siddhis),
immortality, as well as spiritual liberation (moksha, nirvana). Sexual yoga was seen as one way of
producing a blissful expansion of consciousness that could lead to liberation.[127]
According to Jacob Dalton, ritualized sexual yoga (along with the sexual elements of the tantric
initiation ritual, like the consumption of sexual fluids) first appears in Buddhist works called
Mahayoga tantras (which include the Guhyagarbha and Guhyasamaja).[129][130] These texts
"focused on the body's interior, on the anatomical details of the male and female sexual organs and
the pleasure generated through sexual union." In these texts, sexual energy was also seen as a
powerful force that could be harnessed for spiritual practice and according to Samuel "perhaps
create the state of bliss and loss of personal identity which is homologised with liberating
insight."[129] These sexual yogas continued to develop further into more complex systems which
are found in texts dating from about the ninth or tenth century, including the Saiva
Kaulajñānanirṇaya and Kubjikātantra as well as the Buddhist Hevajra, and Cakrasamvara

tantras which make use of charnel ground symbolism and fierce goddesses.[131] Samuel writes that
these later texts also combine the sexual yoga with a system of controlling the energies of the subtle
body.[124]
There is considerable evidence that the Hevajra and Cakrasamvara tantras borrow significant
portions from Saiva sources. The text Cakrasamvara and its commentaries have revealed
numerous attempts by the Buddhists to enlarge and modify it, both to remove references to Saiva
deities and to add more Buddhist technical terminology.[132]
Tantric age
From the 8th to the 14th century, Tantric traditions rose to
prominence and flourished throughout India and
beyond. [133][134][18][135] By the 10th century, the main elements
of tantric practice had reached maturity and were being
practiced in Saiva and Buddhist contexts. This period has been
referred to as the 'Tantric Age' by some scholars due to
prevalence of Tantra.[136] Also by the 10th century, numerous
tantric texts (variously called Agamas, Samhitas and Tantras)
had been written, particularly in Kashmir, Nepal and
Bengal.[137] By this time, Tantric texts had also been translated
into regional languages such as Tamil, and Tantric practices
had spread across South Asia.[138] Tantra also spread into
Tibet, Indonesia and China. Gavin Flood describes the Tantric
age as follows:
Twelve-Armed Chakrasamvara and
Tantrism has been so pervasive that all of Hinduism His Consort Vajravarahi, ca. 12th
after the eleventh century, perhaps with the exception century, India (Bengal) or
Bangladesh
of the vedic Srauta tradition, is influenced by it. All
forms of Saiva, Vaisnava and Smarta religion, even
those forms which wanted to distance themselves
from Tantrism, absorbed elements derived from the
Tantras. [138]
Though the whole northern and Himalayan part of India was involved in the development of
tantra, Kashmir was a particularly important center, both Saiva and Buddhist and numerous key
tantric texts were written there according to Padoux.[139] According to Alexis Sanderson, the Śaiva
Tantra traditions of medieval Kashmir were mainly divided between the dualistic Śaiva Siddhanta
and the non-dualist theology found in Śakta lineages like the Trika, Krama and Kaula. The non-
dualists generally accepted and made use of sexual and transgressive practices, while the dualists
mostly rejected them.[140] Saiva tantra was especially successful because it managed to forge
strong ties with South Asian kings who valued the power (shakti) of fierce deities like the warrior
goddess Durga as a way to increase their own royal power. These kings took part in royal rituals led
by Saiva "royal gurus" in which they were symbolically married to tantric deities and thus became
the earthly representative of male gods like Shiva. Saiva tantra could also employ a variety of
protection and destruction rituals which could be used for the benefit of the kingdom and the
king.[141] Tantric Shaivism was adopted by the kings of Kashmir, as well as by the Somavamshis of
Odisha, the Kalachuris, and the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti (in

Bundelkhand).[142] There is also evidence of state support from
the Cambodian Khmer Empire.[143] As noted by Samuel, in
spite of the increased depiction of female goddesses, these
tantric traditions all seemed to have been mostly "male-
directed and male-controlled."[144]
During the Tantric Age, Buddhist Tantra was embraced by the

Mahayana Buddhist mainstream and was studied at the great
universities such as Nalanda and Vikramashila, from which it
spread to Tibet and to the East Asian states of China, Korea,
and Japan. This new Tantric Buddhism was supported by the
Pala Dynasty (8th–12th century) which supported these
centers of learning and also built grand tantric temples and
monasteries such as Somapura Mahavihara and Odantapuri
while establishing good relations with the Tibetan Empire and
Yogini, East India, 11th-12th century
Srivijaya Empire where the Buddhist Mahasiddhas of the
CE. Matsuoka Museum of Art,
Vajrayana tradition spread their influence via songs of Tokyo, Japan
realization like those collected in the Charyapada which were
orally transmitted in various lineages and translated into many
different languages over time.[145][146] The later Khmer kings
and the Indonesian Srivijaya kingdom also supported tantric
Buddhism. According to Samuel, while the sexual and
transgressive practices were mostly undertaken in symbolic
form (or through visualization) in later Tibetan Buddhist
monastic contexts, it seems that in the eighth to tenth century
Indian context, they were actually performed.[147]
A stone Kālacakra Mandala at the
In the 10th and 11th centuries, both Shaiva and Buddhist tantra Hiraṇyavarṇa Mahāvihāra, a
evolved into more tame, philosophical, and liberation-oriented Buddhist temple in Patan, Nepal
religions. This transformation saw a move from external and built in the 12th century
transgressive rituals towards a more internalized yogic practice
focused on attaining spiritual insight. This recasting also made
tantric religions much less open to attack by other groups. In Shaivism, this development is often
associated with the Kashmiri master Abhinavagupta (c. 950 – 1016 CE) and his followers, as well
the movements which were influenced by their work, like the Sri Vidya tradition (which spread as
far as South India, and has been referred to as "high" tantra).[148]
In Buddhism, this taming of tantra is associated with the adoption of tantra by Buddhist monastics
who sought to incorporate it within the Buddhist Mahayana scholastic framework. Buddhist
tantras were written down and scholars like Abhayakaragupta wrote commentaries on them.
Another important figure, the Bengali teacher Atisha, wrote a treatise which placed tantra as the
culmination of a graduated Mahayana path to awakening, the Bodhipathapradīpa. In his view, one
needed to first begin practicing non-tantric Mahayana, and then later one might be ready for
tantra. This system became the model for tantric practice among some Tibetan Buddhist schools,
like the Gelug. In Tibet, the transgressive and sexual practices of tantra became much less central
and tantric practice was seen as suitable only for a small elite group.[149] New tantras continued to
be composed during this later period as well, such as the Kalachakra (c. 11th century), which seems
to be concerned with converting Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, and uniting them together
against Islam. The Kalachakra teaches sexual yoga, but also warns not to introduce the practice of
ingesting impure substances to beginners, since this is only for advanced yogis. This tantra also
seems to want to minimize the impact of the transgressive practices, since it advises tantrikas to
outwardly follow the customs of their country.[150]
Another influential development during this period was the codification of tantric yogic techniques
that would later become the separate movement known as Hatha Yoga. According to James
Mallinson, the original "source text" for Hatha Yoga is the Vajrayana Buddhist Amṛtasiddhi (11th
century CE) attributed to the mahasiddha Virupa. This text was later adopted by Saiva yogic
traditions (such as the Naths) and is quoted in their texts.[151][152]
Another tradition of Hindu Tantra developed among the Vaishnavas, this was called the
Pāñcarātra Agama tradition. This tradition avoided the transgressive and sexual elements that
were embraced by the Saivas and the Buddhists.[115] There is also a smaller tantric tradition
associated with Surya, the sun god. Jainism also seems to have developed a substantial Tantra
corpus based on the Saura tradition, with rituals based on yakshas and yakshinis. However, this
Jain tantrism was mainly used for pragmatic purposes like protection, and was not used to attain
liberation. Complete manuscripts of these Jain tantras have not survived.[153][154] The Jains also
seem to have adopted some of the subtle body practices of tantra, but not sexual yoga.[124] The
Svetambara thinker Hemacandra (c. 1089–1172) discusses tantric practices extensively, such as
internal meditations on chakras, which betray Kaula and Nath influences.[155]
Reception and later developments

There seems to have been some debate regarding the
appropriateness of tantra. Among the Hindus, those belonging
to the more orthodox Vedic traditions rejected the Tantras.
Meanwhile, tantrikas incorporated Vedic ideas within their
own systems, while considering the Tantras as the higher, more
refined understanding.[153] Meanwhile, some Tantrikas
considered the Tantras to be superior to the Vedas, while
others considered them complementary such as Umapati, who
A depiction of the Goddess Bhairavi
is quoted as stating: "The Veda is the cow, the true Agama its
and Shiva in a charnel ground, from
milk."[156]
a 17th-century manuscript
According to Samuel, the great Advaita philosopher Shankara

(9th century) "is portrayed in his biography, the Sankaravijaya, as condemning the approaches of
various kinds of Tantric practitioners and defeating them through argument or spiritual power."
He also is said to have encouraged the replacement of fierce goddesses with benign female deities,
and thus to have promoted the Sri Vidya tradition (which worships a peaceful and sweet goddess,
Tripura Sundari). Though it is far from certain that Shankara actually campaigned against tantra,
he is traditionally seen as someone who purified Hinduism from transgressive and antinomian
tantric practices.[157]
The 14th-century Indian scholar Mādhavācārya (in Sarva-Darsana-Sangraha) wrote copious

commentaries on then existing major schools of Indian philosophies and practices, and cited the
works of the 10th century Abhinavagupta, who was considered a major and influential Tantra
scholar.[158] However, Madhavacarya does not mention Tantra as a separate, distinct religious or
ritual-driven practice. The early 20th-century Indian scholar Pandurang Vaman Kane conjectured
that Madhavacharya ignored Tantra because it may have been considered scandalous. In contrast,
Padoux suggests that Tantra may have been so pervasive by the 13th century that "it was not
regarded as being a distinct system."[158]
Hindu tantra, while practiced by some of the general lay population, was eventually overshadowed
by the more popular Bhakti movements that swept throughout India from the 15th century
onwards. According to Samuel, "these new devotional styles of religion, with their emphasis on
emotional submission to a supreme saviour-deity, whether Saivite or Vaisnavite, were better
adapted, perhaps, to the subaltern role of non-Muslim groups under Muslim rule."[159] Saiva
tantra did remain an important practice among most Saiva ascetics however.[160] Tantric
traditions also survived in certain regions, such as among the Naths of Rajasthan, in the Sri Vidya
tradition of South India and in the Bengali Bauls.[159]
In Buddhism, while tantra became accepted in the great Mahayana establishments of Nalanda and
Vikramashila and spread to the Himalayan regions, it also experienced serious setbacks in other
regions, particularly Southeast Asia. In Burma, for example, King Anawratha (1044–1077) is said
to have disbanded tantric "Ari" monks. As Theravada Buddhism became dominant in South East
Asian states, tantric religions became marginalised in those regions.[161] In Sri Lanka, tantric
Buddhism also suffered debilitating setbacks. Initially the large Abhayagiri Monastery was a place
where the practice of Vajrayana seems to have flourished during the 8th century. However,
Abhayagiri was disbanded and forced to convert to the orthodox Mahāvihāra sect during the reign
of Parakramabahu I (1153–1186).[162]
Regarding the reception of tantra during the period of Hindu modernism in the 19th and 20th
centuries, Samuel writes that this period saw "a radical reframing of yogic practices away from the
Tantric context." Samuel notes that while Hindu Hatha yoga had its origins in a Saiva tantric
context,
Given the extremely negative views of Tantra and its sexual and magical practices
which prevailed in middle-class India in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
and still largely prevail today, this was an embarrassing heritage. Much effort was given
by people such as Swami Vivekananda into reconstructing yoga, generally in terms of a
selective Vedantic reading of Patañjali's Yogasutra (de Michelis 2004). The effort was
largely successful, and many modern Western practitioners of yoga for health and
relaxation have little or no knowledge of its original function as a preparation for the
internal sexual practices of the Nath tradition.[160]
Buddhist tantra has survived in modern Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, in various Japanese traditions
such as Shingon, and in the Newar Buddhism of the Kathmandu Valley.[163] There are also magical
quasi-tantric traditions in Southeast Asia, sometimes termed Esoteric Southern Buddhism, though
they are not called "tantric" and have been marginalised by state supported modernist forms of
Theravada Buddhism.[164]
Tantric traditions
Hindu tantra
Within Hinduism, the word tantra often refers to a text, which may or may not be "tantric."
Conversely, various tantric texts are actually not always called tantras (instead they may be called
āgama, jñāna, saṃhitā, siddhānta, vidyā).[79][165] There are also tantric Upanishads, which are
late Upanishads as well as tantric Puranas (and Puranas influenced by tantric ideas).[166] Besides
these types of texts, there are also various types of tantric "sastras" (treatises) which may be
"commentaries, digests, compilations, monographs, collections of hymns or of names of deities,
and mantras and works on mantras." Though much of this vast body of tantric literature is in
Sanskrit, others have also been written in Indian vernacular languages. As noted by Padoux, the
largest portion of these tantric works are Shaiva texts.[167]
Tantric texts and practitioners ("tantrikas" & "tantrinis") are often contrasted with Vedic texts and
those who practice Vedic religion ("Vaidikas"). This non-Vedic path was often termed
Mantramarga ("The way of mantras") or Tantrasastra ("Tantra teaching"). One of the most well
known comments on this dichotomy is Kulluka Bhatta's statement in his 15th-century commentary
to the Manusmriti which states that revelation (sruti) is twofold – Vedic and Tantric.[165] Hindu
tantric teachings are generally seen as revelations from a divine being (such as Śiva, or the
Goddess) which are considered by tantrikas to be superior to the Vedas in leading beings to
liberation. They are also considered to be more effective during the Kali Yuga, a time of much
passion (kama). However, tantric thinkers like Abhinavagupta, while considering tantra as
superior, do not totally reject Vedic teachings, and instead consider them valid on a lower level
since they also derive from the same source, the supreme Godhead.[79][168]
There are various Hindu tantric traditions within Shaivism, Shaktism and Vaishnavism.[169] There
are numerous tantric texts for these different traditions with different philosophical points of view,
ranging from theistic dualism to absolute monism.[note 6][170] According to David B. Gray, "one of
the most important tropes in the history of the dissemination of tantric traditions is that of lineage,
the transmission of teachings along an uninterrupted lineage, from master to disciple, the so-called
guruparaṃparā."[79] These various traditions also differ among themselves on how heterodox and
transgressive they are (vis a vis the Vedic tradition). Since tantric rituals became so widespread,
certain forms of tantra were eventually accepted by many orthodox Vedic thinkers such as Jayanta
Bhatta and Yamunacarya as long as they did not contradict Vedic teaching and social rules.[171]
Tantric scriptures such as the Kali centered Jayadrathayamala also state that tantrikas can follow
the Vedic social rules out of convenience and for the benefit of their clan and guru.[172] However,
not all Vedic thinkers accepted tantra. For example, Kumarila Bhatta wrote that one should have
no contact with tantrikas nor speak to them.[173]
Śaiva and Śākta tantra

Śaiva Tantra is called the Mantramārga, and is often seen as
being a separate teaching than the ascetic "Atimārga" tradition
(which includes the Pāśupatas and Kāpālikas).[79][174] There
are various doctrines, textual classes and schools of Shaiva
Tantra, which often overlap with the Shakta tradition in
different ways.
The Śaiva Siddhānta tradition is the earliest Śaiva Tantra

The Brihadishvara Temple, a Śaiva
school and was characterized by public rituals performed by Siddhānta temple in Tamil Nadu
priests. Some of their texts, like the Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā have
been dated to the fifth century.[79] Their scriptures (the Śaiva
Agamas) and basic doctrines are also shared by the other traditions as a common Śaiva doctrine
and many of their rites are also used in other schools of Shaiva
Tantra.[174] The prescriptions and rituals of the Śaiva
Siddhānta Agamas are generally followed by Śaiva temples in
South India and they are mostly compatible with orthodox
Brahmanism, lacking terrifying deities and animal
sacrifice.[175]
The Mantrapīṭha tradition on the other hand, worships

Svacchanda Bhairava, a terrifying form of Shiva also known as
"Aghora" ("not fearsome"). This tradition promotes the Skull
observance (Kapalavrata), that is, carrying a skull, a skull staff
(khatavanga) and worshipping in cremation grounds.[176] One
contemporary group of Kapalika ascetics are the Aghoris.
There are also various traditions who are classified as

"Vidyāpīṭha". The texts of this tradition focus on worshipping Nepalese depiction of the goddess
goddesses known as Yoginīs or Ḍākinīs and include antinomian Kali (https://aghoristories.com/tantr
practices dealing with charnel grounds and sexuality.[79] These a/dakshina-kali-khadgamala-stotra-a
-hymn-to-the-fierce-and-compassion
goddess centered traditions of the Śākta tantras are mostly of
ate-goddess-from-rudrayamal-tantr
the "left" current (vamachara) and are thus considered more a/?amp=1)
heterodox.[177]
There are various Vidyāpīṭha traditions, which focus on a

bipolar, bisexual divinity that is equal parts male and female,
Śaiva and Śākta.[79][177] The Yamalatantras worship Bhairava
along with Kapalini, the goddess of the skull. The Goddess
centered traditions are known as the Kulamārga (Path of the
Clans), referring to the clans of the goddesses and their Shakti
tantras, which may have been established around the 9th
century. It includes sexual rituals, sanguinary practices, the
ritual consumption of liquor and the importance of spirit
possession. It includes various sub-traditions the developed in
different regions of India, such as the Trika lineage (which
worships a trio of deities: Parā, Parāparā, and Aparā), the
tradition of the fierce goddess Guhyakālī, Krama tradition,
focusing on the goddess Kālī, the Kubjikā cult, and the
southern tradition which worships the beautiful goddess Śrī, also known as Lalitā
Kāmeśvarī or Tripurasundarī.[79][177] Tripurasundarī ("beautiful in three
worlds"), Adi Parashakti (the highest
During the 10th century, the syncretic nondual tradition of supreme energy), Kāmeśvarī
Kashmir Śaivism developed. According to Alexis Sanderson, (goddess of desire) and other
names
this tradition arose out of the confrontation between the
dualistic and more orthodox Śaiva Siddhānta and the nondual
transgressive traditions of the Trika and Krama. According to David B. Gray, this school integrated
elements from both of these traditions, "the end result was a nondualistic system in which the
transgressive elements were internalized and hence rendered less offensive to the orthodox."[79]
The philosophers of Kashmir Śaivism, especially Abhinavagupta (c. 975–1025 ce) and his student
Jayaratha, are some of the most influential philosophers who wrote on Hindu tantra.[178] These
thinkers synthesized the various goddess and Śaiva lineages and philosophies into a
comprehensive and influential religious system. According to David White, Abhinavagupta

"sublimates, cosmeticizes, and semanticizes many of its practices into a type of meditative
asceticism whose aim is to realize a transcendent subjectivity".[79] Thus, his work domesticated the
radically antinomian practices of Vidyāpīṭha lineages into meditative exercises.[79]
In Nepal, the Sarvamnaya tantra system evolved as a tantrik tradition which drew upon the
āmnāya system. Amnaya is often translated as 'transmission'. This system serves as the guiding
source for the tradition of worship of deities that emanate from the five different aspects of Lord
Śiva. At its core, the concept of Āmnāya revolves around the idea that Śiva, with his five faces,
(referred to as Sadashiva), imparts the secret Tantric teachings to the goddess through her
corresponding five emanations. Scholarly work on Sarvamnaya can be found in the article, "The
transmission of all powers: Sarvāmnāya Śākta Tantra and the semiotics of power in Nepāla-
maṇḍala" by Jeffrey S. Lidke.[179]
The last major Śaiva tantric tradition is that of the Nāth or "Split-Ear" Kānphaṭa tradition, which
emerged in the 12th or 13th century. They produced various Haṭhayoga texts which draw on tantric
yogas.[79][180]
While the Śākta traditions continued to develop in different ways, sometimes in a more popular
and devotional direction, many of them retain various tantric elements today. The two most
important and popular Śākta tantra traditions today are the Southern Kaula transmission, which
focus on the beautiful goddess Śrī (śrīkula) or Lalitā Tripurasundarī and the Northern and Eastern
transmission, focusing on the ferocious goddess Kālī (kālīkula).[79] The southern transmission
gave rise to the Śrī Vidyā tradition, an important tantric religion in South India. Though it takes
much of its philosophical and doctrinal system from Kashmir Shaivism, it generally avoids the
transgressive elements and is orthodox or "right handed". Bhaskararaya (18th century) is
considered a key thinker of this tradition.[79][178] The Kālīkula tradition is particularly important in
East and South India and Kālī remains a popular goddess in India, a focus of much devotion.[79]
Vaiṣṇava
The main Vaiṣṇava tradition that is associated with tantra is the Pañcharatra. This tradition
produced a number of tantric texts including Lakshmi tantra, but most of the other tantras are lost.
However, this sect does not identify itself as "tantric".[79] The worship and ritual of most of the
Vaiṣṇava temples in South India follow this tradition, which is ritually similar to the Shaiva
Siddhanta. According to Padoux, "from the doctrinal point of view, they are nearer to brahmanical
orthodoxy (proudly asserted by some of their affiliates) and their mantras are indeed often
Vedic."[181]
According to David B. Gray,
During the medieval period another tantric Vaiṣṇava tradition emerged in Bengal.
Known as the Sahajiyā tradition, it flourished in Bengal around the 16th through 19th
centuries. It taught that each individual is a divinity, embodying the divine couple Kṛṣṇa
and his consort Rādhā. This tradition integrated earlier Hindu and Buddhist tantric
practices within a Vaiṣṇava theological framework.[79]
Buddhist tantra
There are various Buddhist tantric traditions with the goal of attaining Enlightenment which are
called by different names such as Vajrayana, Secret Mantra, Mantrayana and so on.[182][note 7][183]
The Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition has been dominant in Tibet and the Himalayan regions.[182]
It first spread to Tibet in the 8th century and quickly rose to prominence.[79] The Tibetan Buddhist
tantric teachings have recently been spread to the Western world by the Tibetan diaspora.
Nepalese Newar Buddhism meanwhile is still practiced in the Kathmandu Valley by the Newar
people. The tradition maintains a canon of Sanskrit texts, the only Buddhist tantric tradition to still
do so.
Buddhist Tantric practices and texts which developed from the 5th to the 8th centuries were
translated into Chinese and are preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon as well as in the
Dunhuang manuscripts.[182][184] Tantric materials involving the use of mantras and dharanis
began to appear in China during the fifth century period, and Buddhist masters such as Zhiyi
developed proto-tantric rituals based on esoteric texts.[185] Chinese Esoteric Buddhism became
especially influential in China in the Tang dynasty period with the arrival of esoteric masters such
as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra to the capital city of Chang'an.[186] The succeeding Song dynasty
saw an influx of new esoteric texts being transmitted by monks from Central Asia.[187] Chinese
Esoteric Buddhist rituals were also noted to be particularly popular in the Liao dynasty, which
contended with the Song for control of northern China.[188] Due to the highly eclectic nature of
Chinese Buddhism where sectarian denominations were not strictly drawn between the various
Buddhist schools (even during the Tang dynasty), and where most Buddhist masters mixed
practices from the different traditions, Chinese Esoteric Buddhist practices were absorbed by
lineages from the other Buddhist traditions such as Chan and Tiantai.[189][190] For example, the
Northern School of Chan even became known for its esoteric practices of dhāraṇīs and
mantras.[191] During the Yuan and Ming dynasty periods, certain esoteric elements from Tibetan
Buddhism were also adapted and incorporated into general Chinese Buddhist practices and rituals.
In modern Chinese Buddhism, the esoteric traditions continue to be passed on and practiced
through numerous tantric rituals such as the Liberation Rite of Water and Land and the Universal
Crossing (普渡 Pǔdù) rites for Hungry Ghosts which involve practices like deity yoga and mandala
offerings, as well as the recitation of tantric mantras such as the Cundī Dhāraṇī, the Hundred
Syllable Mantra of Vajrasattva, the Mahācakravidyārāja Dhāraṇī and the Shurangama
Mantra.[189][190] Esoteric practices also spread to Korea and to Japan, where it exists as an
independent tradition called Shingon.[79]
Other religions
The Hindu and Buddhist Tantric traditions significantly influenced many other religions such
Jainism, Sikhism, the Tibetan Bön tradition, Daoism, Shintō, Sufi Islam, and the Western New Age
movement.[192][193][194]
In the Sikh literature, the ideas related to Shakti and goddess reverence attributed to Guru Gobind
Singh, particularly in the Dasam Granth, are related to tantra ideas found in Buddhism and
Hinduism.[195]
The Jain worship methods, states Ellen Gough, were likely influenced by Shaktism ideas, and this
is attested by the tantric diagrams of the Rishi-mandala where the Tirthankaras are portrayed.[196]
The Tantric traditions within Jainism use verbal spells or mantra, and rituals that are believed to
accrue merit for rebirth realms.[197]
Practices
One of the main elements of the Tantric literature is ritual.[198] Rather than one coherent system,
Tantra is an accumulation of practices and ideas from different sources. As Samuel writes, the
tantric traditions are "a confluence of a variety of different factors and components." These
elements include: mandalas, mantras, internal sexual yogic practices, fierce male and female
deities, cremation ground symbolism, as well as concepts from Indian Philosophy.[199]
André Padoux notes that there is no consensus among scholars as to which elements are
characteristic for Tantra, nor is there any text that contains all those elements.[200] Also, most of
those elements can also be found in non-Tantric traditions.[200] Because of the wide range of
communities covered by the term, it is problematic to describe tantric practices definitively.
However, there are sets of practices and elements which are shared by numerous tantric traditions,
and thus a family resemblance relationship can be established among them.
Different scholars give different main features of tantra. For example, David N. Lorenzen writes
that tantra shares various "shamanic and yogic" practices, worship of goddesses, association with
specific schools like the Kaulas and Kapalikas, as well as tantric texts.[63] Christopher Wallis
meanwhile, basing himself on the definition given the tantric scholar Rāmakaṇṭha, gives four main
features of tantra: "1) concern with ritual modes of manipulation (of the environment or one's own
awareness), 2) requirement for esoteric initiation (to receive access to the scriptural teachings and
practices), 3) a twofold goal of practice: the soteriological and supramundane one of liberation
(variously conceived) and/or the mundane one of extraordinary power over other beings and one's
environment, and 4) the claim that these three are explicated in scriptures that are the word of God
(āgama) or the Buddha (buddhavacana)."[201]
According to Anthony Tribe, a scholar of Buddhist Tantra, Tantra has the following defining
features:[202]
1. Centrality of ritual, especially the worship of deities

2. Centrality of mantras
3. Visualisation of and identification with a deity
4. Need for initiation, esotericism and secrecy
5. Importance of a teacher (guru, acharya)
6. Ritual use of mandalas (maṇḍala)
7. Transgressive or antinomian acts
8. Revaluation of the body
9. Revaluation of the status and role of women
10. Analogical thinking (including microcosmic or macrocosmic correlation)
11. Revaluation of negative mental states
There are a wide array of Tantric techniques or spiritual practices (sadhana) such as:[203]
Dakshina: Donation or gift to one's teacher

Diksha or Abhiseka: Initiation ritual which may include shaktipat
Ganachakra: A ritual feast during which a sacramental meal is offered

Guru yoga and Guru devotion (bhakti)
Mandalas and Yantras, symbolic diagrams of forces at work in the universe
Mantras: reciting syllables, words, and phrases
Mudras, or hand gestures
Nyasa, installing mantras on the body
Prāyaścitta - an expiation ritual performed if a puja has been performed wrongly
Puja (worship ritual) and other forms of bhakti
Ritual music and dance
Ritual purification (of idols, of one's body, etc.)
Ritual sacrifice, including animal sacrifice
Singing of hymns of praise (stava)
Sexual yoga: ritual sexual union (with an actual physical consort or an imagined deity)
The acquisition and use of siddhis or supernormal powers. Associated with vamachara ('left-
hand path')
Use of taboo substances such as alcohol, cannabis, meat and other entheogens.
Visualization of deities and Identification these deities in meditation (deity yoga)
Vrata and Samaya: vows or pledges, sometimes to do ascetic practices like fasting
Yatra: pilgrimage, processions
Yoga, including breathing techniques (pranayama) and postures (asana), is employed to
balance the energies in the body/mind.
Worship and ritual

Worship or puja in Hindu Tantra differs from Vedic forms
somewhat. While in the Vedic practice of yajna there are no
idols, shrines, and symbolic art, in tantra they are important
means of worship.[204]
Rituals are particularly important in the dualistic Śaiva

Siddhānta which according to Padoux "is typically
characterized by an overabundance of rituals, which are
necessarily accompanied by mantras. These rituals are not so
much a succession of actions as a play of mentally visualized A Pujari in front of a Ganesha
and experienced images, a situation common to all Tantric statue, Brihadishwara Shiva Temple
traditions, where rites, meditation, and yoga are exercises in
creative identifying imagination." The theory behind these
rituals is the idea that all humans have a fundamental impurity (mala) that binds them to rebirth.
This impurity can be removed by ritual action (along with proper knowledge). The initial step in
this path is the ritual of initiation (diksa), which opens to door to future liberation at death.[205]
In the non-dualistic and transgressive (or "left hand") traditions like the Kali cults and the Trika
school, rituals and pujas can include certain left hand path elements that are not found in the more
orthodox traditions. These transgressive elements include the use of skulls and other human bone
implements (as part of the Kapalika vow), fierce deities like Bhairava, Kubjika and Kali which were
used as part of meditative visualizations, ritual possession by the deities (avesa), sexual rites and
offering the deity (as well as consuming) certain impure substances like meat, alcohol and sexual
fluids.[206] Padoux explains the transgressive practices as follows:
On the ritual and mental plane, transgression was an essential trait by which the
nondualistic Tantric traditions set themselves apart from other traditions – so much so
that they used the term "nondualistic practice" (advaitacara) to refer to the Kaula
transgressive practices as a rejection of the duality (dvaita) of pure and impure in
brahmanical society. Let us also note that for the nondualistic Saiva systems, the
Yoginis were not active merely in the world of spirits; they were also powers present in
humans – mistresses of their senses, governing their affects, which acquired an
intensity and super-natural dimension through this divinization. This led adepts to an
identification of their individual consciousness with the infinite divine Consciousness,
thus also helping them transcend the sexual plane.[207]
In both the Buddhist and Saiva contexts, the sexual practices are often seen as a way to expand
one's consciousness through the use of bliss.[207]
There is also a fundamental philosophical disagreement between Śaiva Siddhānta and the non-
dualistic schools like the Trika regarding ritual. In Śaiva Siddhānta, only ritual can do away with
"innate impurities" (anavamala) that bind individual Selfs, though the ritual must be performed
with an understanding of their nature and purpose as well as with devotion. In the view of the
Trika school (especially in the work of Abhinavagupta), only knowledge (jñana) which is a
"recognition" (pratyabhijña) of our true nature, leads to liberation. According to Padoux, "this is
also, with nuances, the position of the Pñcaratra and of other Vaisnava Tantric traditions."[208]
Yoga, mantra, meditation

Tantric yoga is first and foremost an embodied practice, which
is seen as having a divine esoteric structure. As noted by
Padoux, tantric yoga makes use of a "mystic physiology" which
includes various psychosomatic elements known as the subtle
body. This imaginary inner structure includes chakras
("wheels"), nadis ("channels"), and energies (like Kundalini,
Chandali, different pranas and vital winds, etc.). The tantric
body is also held to be a microcosmic reflection of the universe,
and is thus seen as containing gods and goddesses.[209]
According to Padoux, the "internalized image of the yogic
body" is a fundamental element for nearly all meditative and
tantric ritual practices.[210]
The use of mantras is one of the most common and widespread

elements of tantric practice. They are used in rituals as well as
during various meditative and yogic practices. Mantra
A meditating Shiva is visited by
recitation (japa) is often practiced along with nyasa
Parvati
("depositing" the mantra), mudras ("seals", i.e. hand gestures)
and complex visualizations involving divine symbols, mandalas
and deities. Nyasa involves touching various parts of the body while reciting mantra, which is
thought to connect the deity with the yogis body and transform the body into that of the deity.[211]
Mantras are also often visualized as being located within the yogi's body as part of tantric
meditations. For example, in the "Yogini Heart" tantra, a Śrī Vidyā text, the yogi is instructed to
imagine the five syllables (HA SA KA LA HRIM) of the deity's mantra in the muladhara chakra.
The next set of five syllables (HA SA KA HA LA HRIM) is visualized in the heart chakra and the
third cluster (SA KA LA HRIM) in the cakra between the eyebrows. The yogi is further instructed
to lengthen the enunciation of the M sound at the end of the HRIM syllable, a practice called nada
(phonic vibration). This practice goes through various increasingly subtle stages until it dissolves
into the silence of the Absolute.[212]
Another common element found in tantric yoga is the use of visionary meditations in which
tantrikas focus on a vision or image of the deity (or deities), and in some cases imagine themselves
as being the deity and their own body as the body of the deity.[213] The practitioner may use
visualizations, identifying with a deity to the degree that the aspirant becomes the Ishta-deva (or
meditational deity). In other meditations, the deities are visualized as being inside the tantrika's
body. For example, in Abhinavagupta's Tantraloka (chapter 15), the Trika trinity of goddesses
(Parā, Parāparā, and Aparā) are visualized on the ends of the three prongs of a trident (located
above the head). The rest of the trident is imagined positioned along the central axis of the yogi's
body, with the blazing corpse of Shiva visualized in the head.[214]
Mandalas and yantras

Yantra are mystical diagrams which are used in tantric
meditation and ritual. They are usually associated with specific
Hindu deities such as Shiva, Shakti, or Kali. Similarly, a puja
may involve focusing on a yantra or mandala associated with a
deity.[215]
According to David Gordon White, geometrical mandalas are a

key element of Tantra.[216] They are used to represent
numerous tantric ideas and concepts as well as used for
meditative focus. Mandalas symbolically communicate the
correspondences between the "transcendent-yet-immanent"
macrocosm and the microcosm of mundane human
experience.[216] The godhead (or principal Buddha) is often
depicted at the center of the mandala, while all other beings,
including the practitioner, are located at various distances from
Sri Yantra diagram with the Ten
this center.[216] Mandalas also reflected the medieval feudal
Mahavidyas. The triangles represent
system, with the king at its centre.[217]
Shiva and Shakti; the snake
represents Spanda and Kundalini.
Mandalas and Yantras may be depicted in various ways, on
paintings, cloth, in three dimensional form, made out of
colored sand or powders, etc. Tantric yoga also often involves the mental visualization of a
mandala or yantra. This is usually combined with mantra recitation and other ritual actions as part
of a tantric sadhana (practice).
Sex and eroticism

While tantra involves a wide range of ideas and practices which are not always of a sexual nature,
Flood and Padoux both note that in the West, Tantra is most often thought of as a kind of ritualized
sex or a spiritualized yogic sexuality.[218][219][220] According to Padoux, "this is a
misunderstanding, for though the place of sex in Tantra is ideologically essential, it is not always so
in action and ritual." Padoux further notes that while sexual practices do exist and were used by
certain tantric groups, they "lost their prevalence when Tantra spread to other larger social
groups."[220]
In the tantric traditions which do use sex as part of spiritual practice (this refers mainly to the
Kaulas, and also Tibetan Buddhism), sex and desire are often seen as a means of transcendence
that is used to reach the Absolute. Thus, sex and desire are not seen as ends in themselves. Because
these practices transgress orthodox Hindu ideas of ritual purity, they have often given tantra a bad
image in India, where it is often condemned by the orthodox. According to Padoux, even among
the traditions which accept these practices, they are far from prominent and practiced only by a
"few initiated and fully qualified adepts".[221]
Western scholarly research
John Woodroffe
The first Western scholar to seriously study Tantra was John
Woodroffe (1865–1936), who wrote about Tantra under the
pen name Arthur Avalon and is known as the "founding father
of Tantric studies".[222] Unlike previous Western scholars
Woodroffe advocated for Tantra, defending and presenting it as
an ethical and philosophical system in accord with the Vedas
and Vedanta.[223] Woodroffe practised Tantra and, while trying
to maintain scholastic objectivity, was a student of Hindu
The Sri Yantra (shown here in the
Tantra (the Shiva-Shakta tradition).[224][225][226] three-dimensional projection known
as Sri Meru or Maha Meru, used
primarily by Srividya Shakta sects)
Further development
Following Woodroffe, a number of scholars began investigating
Tantric teachings, including scholars of comparative religion and Indology such as Agehananda
Bharati, Mircea Eliade, Julius Evola, Carl Jung, Alexandra David-Néel, Giuseppe Tucci and
Heinrich Zimmer.[227] According to Hugh Urban, Zimmer, Evola and Eliade viewed Tantra as "the
culmination of all Indian thought: the most radical form of spirituality and the archaic heart of
aboriginal India", regarding it as the ideal religion for the modern era. All three saw Tantra as "the
most transgressive and violent path to the sacred".[228]
See also
Radha Tantra
References
Notes
1. Padoux (2013), p. 2: "The Hindu worship, the pūjā, for instance, is Tantric in its conception and
ritual process, the principles of Hindu temple building and iconography are Tantric, and so on."
2. The dates in the left column of the table are estimates and contested by scholars.
3. Banerjee (1988): "Tantra is sometimes used to denote governance. Kālidāsa uses the
expression prajah tantrayitva (having governed the subjects) in the Abhijñānaśākuntalam
(V.5)."
4. Also known as Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle.
5. Banerjee (2002), p. 34: "Banabhatta, the Sanskrit author of the 7th century, refers, in the
Harshacharita to the propitiation of Matrikas by a tantric ascetic."
6. Davis (2014), p. 13: "Some agamas argue a monist metaphysics, while others are decidedly
dualist. Some claim ritual is the most efficacious means of religious attainment, while others
assert that knowledge is more important."
7. Lewis & deAngelis (2016), pp. 73–77: "The Tantric Buddhist traditions have been given several
labels, but there is no single label that is accepted by all of these traditions. [...] It is important
to note the use of this term in a plural form. Tantric or esoteric Buddhist traditions are multiple
and also originated as multiple, distinct traditions of both text and practice."
Citations
1. Gray (2016), pp. 1–3.
2. Barrett (2008), p. 12
3. Flood (2006), pp. 9–14.
4. Bisschop (2020), Chapter 1.
5. Kongtrul (2005), p. 74.
6. Flood (2006), pp. 9, 107.
7. Beer (2003), pp. xi–xiv.
8. Berkson (1986), pp. 11–12.
9. Fraser-Lu & Stadtner (2015), p. 59.
10. Gray (2016), pp. 1–2, 17–19.
11. Flood (2006), p. 53,73-75,79,81-3,99,132-3,177.
12. Padoux (2013), p. 1.
13. Lorenzen (2002), p. 25.
14. Monier-Williams, Leumann & Cappeller (2002), p. 436
15. Flood (2006), p. 9
16. Padoux (2017), p. 7.
17. Padoux (2002), p. 17.
18. White (2005), p. 8984.
19. Gray (2016), pp. 3–4.
20. Urban (2008), pp. 26–27
21. Felch (2016), pp. 174–175
22. Banerjee (1988).
23. Pontillo & Candotti (2014), pp. 47–48 with footnotes
24. Kangle (1986), p. 512 with footnote.
25. Joshi (1977), p. 409
26. Bagchi (1989), p. 6.
27. Banerjee (1988), p. 8.
28. Joshi (2012), pp. 48–50.
29. Lorenzen (2002), pp. 31–32.
30. Scharfe (1977), p. 87 with footnote 50.
31. Wallis (2012), p. 26.
32. Banerjee (2002), p. 34.

33. Dyczkowski (1989), pp. 4–5.
34. Brooks (1990), pp. 16–17.
36. Flood (2006), p. 7–8.
38. Stirling (2006), p. 7.
39. Gray (2016), pp. 1–2.
40. Brown (2002), pp. 1–2.
41. Brown (2002), pp. 5–6.
42. Lorea (2018).
43. Brown (2002), p. 6.
44. Lorenzen (2002), p. 25-26.
45. Grassi & Riba (2014), p. 112.
46. Gray (2016), p. 3.
47. Gray (2016), pp. 1–5.
48. Gray (2016), pp. 1–8.
49. Feuerstein (2001), pp. parts 11501-11505.
50. Flood (2006), p. 4, 21-22, 172-173.
51. Goudriaan (1981), pp. 1–8.
52. Brown (2002), p. 1.
53. Goudriaan (1981), pp. 1–2, 39–40.
54. Goudriaan (1981), pp. 1–2, 198–200.
55. Goudriaan (1981), pp. 2, 7–8.
56. Gray (2016), pp. 4–5.
57. Padoux (2002), pp. 18–19.
58. Padoux (2002), pp. 18–21.
59. Brown (2002), pp. 3–4.
60. Samuel & Johnston (2013), pp. 35–38.
61. Feuerstein (2011), pp. 108–09.
62. Werner (1977), pp. 289–302
63. Lorenzen (2002), p. 27.
64. Phillips (2009), p. 295 with note 23.
65. Deussen (1980), pp. 301–304, 310–311.
66. Samuel (2010), pp. 284–285.
67. Lorenzen (2002), p. 27-28.
68. Lorenzen (2002), p. 28.
69. White (2014), p. 188.
70. Samuel (2010), pp. 157–158.
71. Samuel (2010), p. 221.
72. Samuel (2010), p. 283.
73. White (2003), pp. 28–29.
74. White (2003), pp. 30, 280.
75. Smith (2012), pp. 363–364
76. Snellgrove (1987), p. 122.
77. Samuel (2010), p. 131.
78. Samuel (2010), pp. 128–129.

79. Gray (2016).
80. Samuel (2010), pp. 142, 145–146.
81. Samuel (2010), pp. 144–145.
82. Samuel (2010), p. 248.
83. Watson (1994), Chapter 26 Dharani.
84. Samuel (2010), pp. 219–220.
85. Osto (2009).
86. Samuel (2010), pp. 226–227.
87. Brown (2002), pp. 11–13.
88. Taddei (1979).
89. Lorenzen (2002), pp. 28–30.
90. Lorenzen (2002), pp. 28–29.
91. Padoux (2017), p. 21.
92. Samuel (2010), p. 242.
93. Lorenzen (2002), p. 30.
94. Dyczkowski (1988), pp. 26–27.
95. Samuel (2010), p. 243.
96. Lorenzen (1972), pp. xii, 1–4
97. Samuel (2010), p. 246.
98. Lorenzen (2002), pp. 30–31.
99. Davidson (2004), pp. 202–218.
100. Sanderson (2012–2013), pp. 4–5, 11, 57.
101. Lorenzen (2002), p. 31.
102. Lorenzen (2002), pp. 27–31.
103. Flood (1996), p. 158.
104. Flood (1996), p. 161.
105. Flood (1996), pp. 161–162.
106. Olivelle (1992), pp. 5–9, 17–18.
107. Olivelle (2011).
108. Samuel (2010), pp. 232–233.
109. Samuel (2010), pp. 247–249.
110. Samuel (2010), p. 255.
111. Sanderson (1995).
112. Davidson (2004), p. 204.
113. Davidson (2004), p. 214, 228, 231.
114. Samuel (2010), p. 265.
115. Samuel (2010), p. 291.
116. Samuel (2010), pp. 266–267.
117. Samuel (2010), pp. 259–260, 287, 292.
118. Samuel (2010), p. 264, 291-292.
119. Samuel (2010), pp. 252–254.
120. Samuel (2010), p. 254.
121. Samuel (2010), pp. 257–258.
122. Borkataky-Varma (2019).
123. Samuel (2010), pp. 255, 271.
124. Samuel (2010), p. 289.

125. Samuel (2010), p. 274.
126. Snellgrove (1987), p. 127.
127. Samuel (2010), p. 276.
128. Samuel (2010), pp. 283, 286.
129. Samuel (2010), pp. 287–289.
130. Dalton (2004).
131. Samuel (2010), pp. 285–289.
132. Gray & Overbey (2016), p. 294.
133. Smith (2005), p. 8989.
134. Einoo (2009), p. 45.
135. Padoux (2017), p. 22.
136. Wedemeyer (2013), pp. 155, 252.
137. Flood (1996), p. 158 159.
138. Flood (1996), p. 159.
139. Padoux (2017), pp. 22–23.
140. Samuel (2010), p. 253.
141. Samuel (2010), pp. 293–299.
142. Samuel (2010), p. 299.
143. Samuel (2010), p. 304.
144. Samuel (2010), p. 303.
145. Samuel (2010), pp. 293, 307, 309.
146. Dahiya (2017), pp. 411–414.
147. Samuel (2010), p. 292.
148. Samuel (2010), pp. 324–328.
149. Samuel (2010), pp. 329–330.
150. Samuel (2010), pp. 330–332.
151. Mallinson (2016).
152. Mallinson (2019), pp. 1–33.
153. Flood (1996), pp. 158–159.
154. Samuel (2010), pp. 267–268.
155. Samuel (2010), p. 333.
156. Smith (1996), p. 116.
157. Samuel (2010), p. 322.
158. Padoux (2002), pp. 17–18.
159. Samuel (2010), p. 335.
160. Samuel (2010), p. 336.
161. Samuel (2010), pp. 322–323.
162. Hirakawa & Groner (2007), pp. 125–126.
163. Samuel (2010), p. 337.
164. Samuel (2010), pp. 337–338.
165. Padoux (2017), p. 8.
166. Padoux (2017), p. 29.
167. Padoux (2017), pp. 29–30.
168. Padoux (2017), pp. 8, 10.
169. Sanderson (2012–2013), pp. 4–5, 11, 35, 57.
170. Sharma (1990), pp. 9–14.

171. Padoux (2017), p. 9.
172. Padoux (2017), p. 10.
173. Padoux (2017), p. 11.
174. Padoux (2017), p. 31.
175. Padoux (2017), p. 32.
176. Padoux (2017), p. 33.
177. Padoux (2017), pp. 33–34.
178. Padoux (2017), p. 36.
179. Lidke (2004); Lidke (2021).
180. Padoux (2017), p. 39.
181. Padoux (2017), p. 37.
182. Gray & Overbey (2016), pp. 5–7, 199–216.
183. Payne (2006), pp. 1–3 (https://books.google.com/books?id=3Y0PUmrAxyMC&pg=PA1).
184. Gray & Overbey (2016), pp. 7, 257–264.
185. Orzech, Sørensen & Payne (2011), p. 263.
186. Goble (2019), p. 139.
187. Willemen (2004), p. 28.
188. Solonin (2013).
189. Orzech (1989).
190. Lye (2003).
191. Sharf (2002), p. 268.
192. Gray (2016), pp. 1, 7, 17–18.
193. Keul (2012), pp. 13, 373–374, 399–408.
194. Orzech, Sørensen & Payne (2011), pp. 307–314.
195. Rinehart (2011), pp. 13, 140–147, 166–170.
196. Gough (2012).
197. Cort (2001), pp. 417–419.
198. Feuerstein (1998), p. 124.
199. Samuel (2010), pp. 289–290.
200. Padoux (2002), p. 18.
201. Wallis (2016).
202. Williams & Tribe (2000), p. 197–202.
203. Feuerstein (1998), p. 127-130.
204. Ghose (1996), p. 141.
205. Padoux (2017), p. 52.
206. Padoux (2017), pp. 53–54.
207. Padoux (2017), p. 55.
208. Padoux (2017), p. 126.
209. Padoux (2017), pp. 73–75.
210. Padoux (2017), p. 75.
211. Padoux (2017), pp. 76–77, 80.
212. Padoux (2017), p. 78.
213. Cavendish (1980).
214. Padoux (2017), pp. 77–79.
215. Magee, Michael. The Kali Yantra (http://www.shivashakti.com/kaliyan.htm)
216. White (2000), p. 9.

217. White (2000), p. 25-28.
218. Flood (1996), pp. 159–160.
219. Flood (2006), pp. i–ii.
220. Padoux (2017), p. 86.
221. Padoux (2017), pp. 87–88.
222. Urban (2003), p. 22.
223. Urban (2003), p. 135.
224. Avalon (1913), p. 1ff.
225. Avalon (1914), p. 1ff.
226. Avalon (1918), p. 1ff.
227. Urban (2003), pp. 165–166.
228. Urban (2003), pp. 166–167.
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Bhattacharyya, N. N. (1999). History of the Tantric Religion (2nd rev. ed.). New Delhi: Manohar.
ISBN 978-81-7304-025-2.
Campbell, June (2002). Traveller in Space: Gender, Identity, and Tibetan Buddhism. A&C Black.
ISBN 978-0826457196.
McDaniel, June (2004). Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West
Bengal. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mookerji, Ajit (1997). The Tantric Way: Art, Science, Ritual. London: Thames & Hudson.
Norbu, Chögyal Namkhai (1999). The Crystal and The Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen.
Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-1-55939-135-1.
White, David Gordon (1998). The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Yeshe, Lama Thubten (1987). Introduction to Tantra:The Transformation of Desire (2001,
revised ed.). Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-162-9.
External links
"Tantra: enlightenment to revolution" (https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/tantra-enlighte
nment-revolution), British Museum, 2021
Media related to Tantra at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to Tantra at Wikiquote
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Appearance of the term "Tantra" in Indian texts [hide]

Period[note 2] Text or author Contextual meaning of tantra

Essence (or "main part", perhaps

350-283 BCE Chanakya on Arthaśāstra Science;[24] system or shastra[25]

320 CE Viṣṇu Purāṇa Practices and rituals[27]

Worship techniques (Tantrodbhuta)[28]

Sabarasvamin's commentary on Mimamsa Sutra Thread, text;[30] beneficial action or

System of thought or set of doctrines or

Ancient and medieval era

— Sabara, 6th century, [25][37]

According to Georg Feuerstein,

Proto-Tantric elements in Vedic religion

Proto-Tantric elements in Buddhism

According to Geoffrey Samuel, sramana groups like the

A key element of Buddhist Tantric practice is the visualization

Proto-Tantric elements in Shaktism and Shaivism

flourishing by the 7th century.[63]

Rise and development

Samuel states that transgressive and antinomian tantric

According to Samuel, another key element of in the

terrifying goddesses which became incorporated into Śaiva and

Alexis Sanderson has argued that tantric practices originally

Kaulajñānanirṇaya and Kubjikātantra as well as the Buddhist Hevajra, and Cakrasamvara

Odisha, the Kalachuris, and the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti (in

During the Tantric Age, Buddhist Tantra was embraced by the

Reception and later developments

According to Samuel, the great Advaita philosopher Shankara

The 14th-century Indian scholar Mādhavācārya (in Sarva-Darsana-Sangraha) wrote copious

Śaiva and Śākta tantra

The Śaiva Siddhānta tradition is the earliest Śaiva Tantra

The Mantrapīṭha tradition on the other hand, worships

There are also various traditions who are classified as

There are various Vidyāpīṭha traditions, which focus on a

comprehensive and influential religious system. According to David White, Abhinavagupta

According to David B. Gray,

1. Centrality of ritual, especially the worship of deities

Dakshina: Donation or gift to one's teacher

Ganachakra: A ritual feast during which a sacramental meal is offered

Worship and ritual

Rituals are particularly important in the dualistic Śaiva

Yoga, mantra, meditation

The use of mantras is one of the most common and widespread

Mandalas and yantras

According to David Gordon White, geometrical mandalas are a

Sex and eroticism

Western scholarly research

32. Banerjee (2002), p. 34.

78. Samuel (2010), pp. 128–129.

124. Samuel (2010), p. 289.

170. Sharma (1990), pp. 9–14.

216. White (2000), p. 9.

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