Tantra (/ˈtʌntrə/; Sanskrit: तन्त्र, lit. 'expansion-device, salvation-spreader; loom, weave, warp') is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, initially within Shaivism and Shaktism, and subsequently in Mahayana Buddhism, Vaishnavism. The Tantras focus on sādhana, encompassing dīkṣā, rituals, and yoga, within a ritual framework that includes bodily purification, divine self-creation through mantra, dhyāna, pūjā, mudrā, mantra recitation, and the use of yantras or maṇḍalas, despite variations in deities and mantras. They present complex cosmologies, viewing the body as divine and typically reflecting the union of Shiva and Shakti as the path to liberation. Tantric goals include siddhi (supernatural accomplishment), bhoga (worldly enjoyment), and Kuṇḍalinī’s ascent, while also addressing states of possession (āveśa) and exorcism.
The term tantra, in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". 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.
