The Roots of Tantra

The volume begins by addressing the difficulty of defining Tantra. It emphasizes that “Tantrism” is largely a modern scholarly category and that no single doctrine or practice is exclusively Tantric. Instead, Tantra is presented as a mode of religious action characterized by ritual transformation, the manipulation of sacred power, the correspondence between microcosm and macrocosm, the central role of the guru, and the use of mantra, yantra, maṇḍala, visualization, and the body as instruments of spiritual realization. The essays then trace the historical roots of these practices across different periods and regions. They examine goddess worship, Śrīvidyā, Śākta and Śaiva traditions, early Vaiṣṇava ritual systems, Vedic precedents, yogic physiology, cremation-ground practices, and the development of Tantric texts. Together, the studies show that Tantra emerged through cumulative interactions among ritual, theology, politics, art, and embodied practice, with both liberation and worldly power understood as legitimate religious goals.