Editing Tantra (section)

==History==

===Proto-tantric elements in Indian religions===
While Tantra arose in the 5th century CE in Shaivite religions, practices and ideas can be found in Indian religion and history which may have been formative to Tantric practices and ideas.

====Proto-tantric elements in Vedic religion====
=====Rig Veda=====
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".<ref name="Werner">{{harvp|Werner|1977|pp=289–302}}</ref> The Rigveda uses words of admiration for these loners,<ref name="Werner" /> 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".{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|p=27}} 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".<ref name="Werner"/> However, Patrick Olivelle suggests that in the early Vedic-Brahmanical texts, some of which predate the 3rd-century BCE ruler Ashoka, Brahmana and Śramaṇa (ascetics) were neither distinct nor opposed. The later distinctions were semantic developments possibly influenced by the appropriation of the term Śramaṇa by Buddhism and Jainism.{{sfn|Olivelle|1993|p=12}}

=====Upanishads=====
The two oldest [[Upanishads|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 [[Ātman (Hinduism)|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.{{sfnp|Phillips|2009|p=295 with note 23}} The ''[[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]]'' describes [[pranayama|breath control]] that became a standard part of Yoga, but Tantric practices do not appear in it.{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|p=27}}{{sfnp|Deussen|1980|pp=301-304, 310-311}} Likewise, the ''[[Taittiriya Upanishad]]'' discusses a central channel running through the body and various Vedic texts mention the bodily [[prana]]s (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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=284-285}} According to Lorenzen, Vedic ideas related to the body later diversified into the [[Subtle body|"mystical anatomy"]] of ''[[nadis]]'' and ''[[chakras]]'' found in Tantra.{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|p=27-28}} The yogic component of Tantrism appears clearly in [[Bāṇabhaṭṭa]]'s ''[[Harshacharita]]'' and [[Daṇḍin]]'s ''[[Dashakumaracharita]]''.{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|p=28}} 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.{{sfnp|White|2014|p=188}}

=====Tapas and spitualized sexual energy=====
According to [[Geoffrey Samuel]], the inner development of a spiritual energy called [[Tapas (Indian religions)|tapas]] becomes a central element of Vedic religion in the [[Brahmana]]s and [[Śrauta|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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=157-158}} 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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=221}} 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 [[Yajna|Vedic sacrifice]], and ejaculation of semen as the offering." This theme can be found in the ''[[Jaiminiya Brahmana]]'', the ''[[Chandogya Upanishad|Chandogya Upanisad]]'', and the ''[[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad|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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=283}}

=====Yogini cults=====
[[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]].{{sfnp|White|2003|pp=28-29}} Instead, White suggests Vedic [[Srauta]] texts mention offerings to goddesses Rākā, Sinīvālī, and Kuhū in a manner similar to a tantric ritual.{{sfnp|White|2003|pp=30, 280}}

=====Atharvaveda=====
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 CE.<ref name="Smith"/> 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 cannot be traced to anything in ''Atharvaveda'' or any other vedic text.<ref name="Smith">{{harvp|Smith|2012|pp=363–364}}</ref>

====Proto-Tantric elements in Buddhism====
[[File:Sanskrit language, Siddham to Chinese transliteration, Buddhist Dharani literature.jpg|thumb|A Buddhist [[dhāraṇī]] (incantation), the ''Nilaṇṭhanāmahṛdaya dhāraṇī'', in [[Siddhaṃ script|Siddham Script]] with Chinese transliteration]]
[[File:Yakshi Mathura.jpg|thumb|[[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] sculpture of a [[Yakshini|yakṣiṇī]] (2nd century), [[Mathura]] region]]

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.{{sfnp|Snellgrove|1987|p=122}} These magical spells or chants were used for various reasons, such as for [[Apotropaic magic|protection]], and for the generation of [[auspiciousness]].{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=131}} [[Mahayana]] incantations are called [[dhāraṇī]]s. Some Mahayana sutras incorporate the use of [[mantra]]s, 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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=128-129}} Thus, the association of tantric practitioners with [[charnel ground]]s and death imagery is preceded by early Buddhist contact with these sites of the dead.

Some scholars think that the development of tantra may have been influenced by the cults of nature spirit-deities like [[Yaksha|Yakṣas]] and [[Nāga|Nagas]].{{sfnp|Gray|2016}} Yakṣa cults were an important part of [[Early Buddhist schools|early Buddhism]]. Yakṣas are powerful nature spirits which were sometimes seen as guardians or protectors.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=142, 145-146}} 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]]''.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=144-145}} 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 [[Rakshasa|rākṣasa]] and rākṣasī, like the children-eating [[Hariti|Hārītī]].{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=248}} 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 [[dhāraṇī]]s to protect followers of the ''Lotus Sutra''.{{sfnp|Watson|1994|loc=Chapter 26 Dharani}}

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 Sūtra|Pratyutpanna Samādhi]]'' and the [[Pure Land Buddhism|three Amitabha Pure land sutras]].{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=219-220}} There are other Mahāyāna [[sutras]] which contain what may be called "proto-tantric" material such as the ''[[Gandavyuha]]'' and the [[Ten Stages Sutra|''Dasabhumika'']] which might have served as a source for the imagery found in later Tantric texts.{{sfnp|Osto|2009}} 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: [[Akshobhya|Aksobhya]] in the East, Ratnaketu in the South, [[Amitābha|Amitayus]] in the West and Dundubhīśvara in the North."{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=226-227}}

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.{{sfnp|Brown|2002|pp=11-13}} 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".{{sfnp|Brown|2002|pp=11-13}}{{sfnp|Taddei|1979}} According to Robert Brown, these Buddhist skull-tapping [[relief]]s suggest that tantric practices may have been in vogue by the 1st century CE.{{sfnp|Brown|2002|pp=11-13}}

====Proto-Tantric elements in Shaktism and Shaivism====
[[File:Aghoree, Hindoo mendicant, Benares.jpg|thumb|A modern [[aghori]] with a skull-cup ([[Kapala]]). Their predecessors, the medieval [[Kapalika]]s ("Skull-men") were influential figures in the development of transgressive or [[Vamachara|"left hand"]] Shaiva tantra.]]

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]].{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|pp=28-30}} 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.{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|pp=28-29}} Padoux mentions an inscription from 423 to 424&nbsp;CE which mentions the founding of a temple to terrifying deities called "the mothers".{{sfnp|Padoux|2017|p=21}} 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&nbsp;CE", states David Lorenzen, it is only 7th-century Banabhatta's ''[[Kadambari]]'' which provide convincing proof of Tantra and Tantric texts.{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|pp=31-32}}

Shaivite ascetics seem to have been involved in the initial development of Tantra, particularly the transgressive elements dealing with the charnel ground. According to Samuel, one group of Shaiva ascetics, the [[Pashupata Shaivism|Pasupatas]], practiced a form of spirituality that made use of shocking and disreputable behavior later found in a tantric context, such as dancing, singing, and smearing themselves with ashes.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=242}}

Early Tantric practices are sometimes attributed to Shaiva ascetics associated with Bhairava, the [[Kapalikas]] ("skull men", also called ''Somasiddhatins'' or ''Mahavartins'').{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|p=30}}{{sfnp|Dyczkowski|1988|pp=26-27}}{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=243}} 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.<ref name="Lorenzen">{{harvp|Lorenzen|1972|pp=xii, 1–4}}</ref>{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=243}} 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 [[dakini]]s, and that they were believed to possess magical powers, such as flight.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=246}}

Kapalikas are depicted in fictional works and also widely disparaged in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain texts of the 1st millennium CE.<ref name="Lorenzen" />{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|pp=30-31}} In [[Hāla]]'s ''[[Gaha Sattasai|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.{{sfnp|Dyczkowski|1988|pp=26-27}} The 6th-century [[Varāhamihira]] mentions Kapalikas in his literary works.{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|pp=30-31}} 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.{{sfnp|Davidson|2004|pp=202–218}}{{sfnp|Sanderson|2012–2013|pp=4–5, 11, 57}}

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.{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|p=31}} Literary evidence suggests Tantric Buddhism was probably flourishing by the 7th century.{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|p=27}} 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.{{sfnp|Lorenzen|2002|pp=27-31}}

===Rise and development===
{{Main|Tantras (Hinduism)|Tantras (Buddhism)}}

[[File:Dancing Bhairava in the Indian Museum, Kolkata 01.jpg|thumb|Dancing [[Bhairava]] in the Indian Museum, Kolkata]]
[[File:Nepal, 11th-12th century - Vajravarahi- Dancing Tantric Buddhist Female Diety - 1966.144 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|Dancing [[Vajravārāhī]], a Buddhist tantric deity, [[Nepal]], 11th–12th century]]
[[File:A_Nath_Yogi_LACMA_M.85.283.10_(1_of_3).jpg|thumb|Illustration of a yogi and their [[chakra]]s]]
[[File:Mahasiddhas_and_consorts_practicing_karmamudra.png|thumb|Buddhist Mahasiddhas practicing the sexual yoga of [[karmamudrā]] ("action seal")]]

According to Peter C. Bisschop, the expansion of the Pāśupata Śaivite movement (early CE) throughout North India gave rise to different forms of Śaivism, eventually leading to the emergence of various tantric traditions.<ref>{{Citation | last = Bisschop | first = Peter C. | year = 2011 | title = Shaivism | publisher = Oxford University Press | url = http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399318/obo-9780195399318-0051.xml | access-date = 10 March 2017 | archive-date = 2 January 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180102174639/http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399318/obo-9780195399318-0051.xml | url-status = live }}</ref>

According to David B. Gray, Vajrayana originated from pre-existing Tantric traditions, also known as 'Tantrism', which emerged within [[Hinduism]] during the first millennium CE. These early Hindu tantric practices had a profound influence on South Asian Mahāyāna Buddhism, leading to the emergence of distinct Buddhist tantric traditions in the 7th century CE. These traditions quickly spread across Southeast, East, and Central Asia, giving rise to unique forms in East Asia and Tibet.{{sfnm|1a1=Gray|1y=2016|1p=2|2a1=Gray|2y=2023|2p=7}}

According to [[Gavin Flood]], the earliest date for the Tantra texts related to Tantric practices is 600&nbsp;CE, though most of them were probably composed after the 8th century onwards.{{sfnp|Flood|1996|p=158}} 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.{{sfnp|Flood|1996|p=161}}

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.{{sfnp|Flood|1996|pp=161-162}}{{sfnp|Olivelle|1992|pp=5–9, 17–18}}{{sfnp|Olivelle|2011|pp= }} 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.{{sfnp|Flood|1996|p=161}} These ascetics would have been supported by low castes living at the cremation places.{{sfnp|Flood|1996|p=161}}

Samuel states that [[wikt:transgressive|transgressive]] and [[Antinomianism|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."{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=232-233}}

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 between the fifth to eighth centuries CE.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=247-249}} According to Samuel, there are two main scholarly opinions on these 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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=255}}

[[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.{{sfnp|Sanderson|1995}} This has been criticized by Ronald M. Davidson however, due to the uncertain date of the ''Vidyapitha'' texts.{{sfnp|Davidson|2004|p=204}} 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 religions in India|tribal Indian religions]] and their deities.{{sfnp|Davidson|2004|p=214, 228, 231}} Samuel writes that "the female divinities may well best be understood in terms of a distinct [[Sakthan Thampuran|Śākta]] milieu from which both Śaivas and Buddhists were borrowing",{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=265}} but that other elements, like the Kapalika style practices, are more clearly derived from a Śaiva tradition.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=265}}

Samuel writes that the Saiva Tantra tradition appears to have 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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=291}}

The Buddhists developed their own corpus of Tantras, which 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).{{sfnp|Flood|1996|p=158}}{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=266-267}} 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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=259-260, 287, 292}} 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" ([[Classes of Tantra in Tibetan Buddhism|''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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=264, 291-292}}

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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=252-254}} For both Śaivas and Buddhists, tantric practices often took place at important sacred sites (pithas) associated with fierce goddesses.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=254}} 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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=257-258}} 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 ''[[Kalika Purana|Kālikāpurāṇa]]'' and the ''[[Yogini Tantra|Yoginītantra]].'' In some of these sites, such as [[Kamakhya Temple|Kamakhya Pitha]], animal sacrifice is still widely practiced by Śāktas.{{sfnp|Borkataky-Varma|2019}}

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 (''[[Nadi (yoga)|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 [[Tantric sex|sexual yoga]], since sexual intercourse was seen as being involved in the stimulation of the flow of these energies.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=255, 271}} Samuel thinks that these subtle body practices may have been influenced by Chinese [[Taoism|Daoist]] practices.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=289}}

One of the earliest mentions of sexual yoga practice is in the Buddhist ''[[Mahayana-sutra-alamkara-karika|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."{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=274}} 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.{{sfnp|Snellgrove|1987|p=127}} 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).{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=276}}

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 [[Tummo|Chandali]], which were also seen as goddesses), and also with spiritual ends.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=283, 286}} These practices seemed to have developed at around the same time in both Saiva and Buddhist circles, and are associated with figures such as [[Tirumular|Tirumülar]], [[Gorakhnath]], [[Virupa]], [[Naropa]]. The tantric [[Gorakhnath|mahasiddhas]] developed yogic systems with subtle body and sexual elements which could lead to magical powers ([[siddhi]]s), [[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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=276}}

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 tantra|Guhyagarbha]]'' and ''[[Guhyasamāja Tantra|Guhyasamaja]]'').{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=287-289}}{{sfnp|Dalton|2004}} 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."{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=287–289}} 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 ''[[Kubjika|Kubjikātantra]]'' as well as the Buddhist ''[[Hevajra]]'', and [[Cakrasaṃvara Tantra|''Cakrasamvara'']] tantras which make use of charnel ground symbolism and fierce goddesses.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=285–289}} Samuel writes that these later texts also combine the sexual yoga with a system of controlling the energies of the subtle body.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=289}}

There is considerable evidence that the ''Hevajra'' and ''Cakrasamvara'' tantras borrow significant portions from [[Shaivism|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.{{sfnp|Gray|Overbey|2016|p=294}}

===Tantric age===
[[File:MET 39 DP310521R1 61D.jpg|thumb|Twelve-Armed [[Cakrasaṃvara Tantra|Chakrasamvara]] and His Consort Vajravarahi, c. 12th century, India (Bengal) or Bangladesh]]
[[File:Yogini, East India, 11th-12th century AD, basalt - Matsuoka Museum of Art - Tokyo, Japan - DSC07079.JPG|thumb|[[Yogini]], East India, 11th–12th century CE. Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan]]
[[File:Golden Temple (Kwa Bahal) 01.jpg|thumb|A stone Kālacakra Mandala at the [[Hiranya Varna Mahavihar|Hiraṇyavarṇa Mahāvihāra]], a Buddhist temple in [[Patan, Nepal]], built in the 12th century]]

From the 8th to the 14th century, Tantric traditions rose to prominence and flourished throughout India and beyond.{{sfnp|Smith|2005|p=8989}}{{sfnp|Einoo|2009|p=45}}{{sfnp|White|2005|p=8984}}{{sfnp|Padoux|2017|p=22}} 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.{{sfnp|Wedemeyer|2013|pp=155, 252}} Also by the 10th century, numerous tantric texts (variously called [[Shaiva Agamas|Agamas]], Samhitas and Tantras) had been written, particularly in Kashmir, Nepal and Bengal.{{sfnp|Flood|1996|p=158 159}} By this time, Tantric texts had also been translated into regional languages such as Tamil, and Tantric practices had spread across South Asia.{{sfnp|Flood|1996|p=159}} Tantra also spread into Tibet, Indonesia and China. Gavin Flood describes the Tantric age as follows:{{blockquote|
Tantrism has been so pervasive that all of Hinduism after the eleventh century, perhaps with the exception of the vedic [[Shrauta|Srauta tradition]], is influenced by it. All forms of [[Shaivism|Saiva]], [[Vaishnavism|Vaisnava]] and [[Smarta Tradition|Smarta]] religion, even those forms which wanted to distance themselves from Tantrism, absorbed elements derived from the Tantras.{{Sfnp|Flood|1996|p=159}}
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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.{{sfnp|Padoux|2017|pp=22-23}} 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 [[Kashmir Shaivism|Trika]], Krama and [[Kaula (Hinduism)|Kaula]]. The non-dualists generally accepted and made use of sexual and transgressive practices, while the dualists mostly rejected them.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=253}} 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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=293-299}} Tantric Shaivism was adopted by the kings of Kashmir, as well as by the [[Somavamshi dynasty|Somavamshis]] of [[Odisha]], the [[Kalachuris of Mahishmati|Kalachuris]], and the [[Chandelas of Jejakabhukti]] (in [[Bundelkhand]]).{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=299}} There is also evidence of state support from the [[Cambodia]]n [[Khmer Empire]].{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=304}} 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."{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=303}}

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 Empire|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 [[Srivijaya|Srivijaya Empire]] where the Buddhist [[Mahasiddha|Mahasiddhas]] of the [[Vajrayana]] tradition spread their influence via [[songs of realization]] like those collected in the [[Charyapada]] which were orally transmitted in various lineages and translated into many different languages over time.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=293, 307, 309}}{{sfnp|Dahiya|2017|pp=411-414}} The later [[Monarchy of Cambodia|Khmer kings]] and the Indonesian [[Srivijaya|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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=292}}

In the 10th and 11th centuries, both Shaiva and Buddhist tantra evolved into more tame, philosophical, and liberation-oriented religions. This transformation saw a move from external and 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&nbsp;CE) and his followers, as well the movements which were influenced by their work, like the [[Shri Vidya|Sri Vidya]] tradition (which spread as far as [[South India]], and has been referred to as "high" tantra).{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=324-328}}

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 [[Atiśa|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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=329-330}} 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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=330-332}}

Another influential development during this period was the codification of tantric yogic techniques that would later become the separate movement known as [[Hatha yoga|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 [[Nath]]s) and is quoted in their texts.{{sfnp|Mallinson|2016}}{{sfnp|Mallinson|2019|pp=1-33}}

Another tradition of Hindu Tantra developed among the [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavas]], this was called the [[Pancharatra|Pāñcarātra]] Agama tradition. This tradition avoided the transgressive and sexual elements that were embraced by the Saivas and the Buddhists.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=291}} 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 (Hinduism)|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.{{sfnp|Flood|1996|pp=158-159}}{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=267-268}} The Jains also seem to have adopted some of the subtle body practices of tantra, but not sexual yoga.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=289}} The [[Śvētāmbara|Svetambara]] thinker [[Hemachandra|Hemacandra]] (c. 1089–1172) discusses tantric practices extensively, such as internal meditations on chakras, which betray Kaula and Nath influences.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=333}}

=== Reception and later developments ===
[[File:The Goddess Bhairavi Devi with Shiva MET DP257990.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Tantric goddess [[Bhairavi]] and her consort [[Shiva]] depicted as [[Kapalika|Kāpālika ascetics]], sitting in a [[charnel ground]]. Painting by Payāg from a 17th-century manuscript ({{circa|1630–1635}}), [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], [[New York City]].]]

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.{{sfnp|Flood|1996|pp=158-159}} Meanwhile, some Tantrikas considered the Tantras to be superior to the Vedas, while others considered them complementary such as Umapati, who is quoted as stating: "The Veda is the cow, the true Agama its milk."{{sfnp|Smith|1996|p=116}}

According to Samuel, the great [[Advaita Vedanta|Advaita]] philosopher [[Adi Shankara|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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=322}}

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.{{sfnp|Padoux|2002|pp=17-18}} 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."{{sfnp|Padoux|2002|pp=17-18}}

Hindu tantra, while practiced by some of the general lay population, was eventually overshadowed by the more popular [[Bhakti movement]]s 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."{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=335}} Saiva tantra did remain an important practice among most Saiva ascetics however.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=336}} 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 [[Baul]]s.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=335}}

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 [[Anawrahta|Anawratha]] (1044–1077) is said to have disbanded tantric "[[Ari Buddhism|Ari]]" monks. As Theravada Buddhism became dominant in South East Asian states, tantric religions became marginalised in those regions.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=322-323}} In Sri Lanka, tantric Buddhism also suffered debilitating setbacks. Initially the large [[Abhayagiri vihāra|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 [[Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya|Mahāvihāra sect]] during the reign of [[Parakramabahu I|Parakramabahu&nbsp;I]] (1153–1186).{{sfnp|Hirakawa|Groner|2007|pp=125-126}}

Regarding the reception of tantra during the period of [[Modern Hinduism|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,

<blockquote>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 [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=336}}</blockquote>

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.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|p=337}} There are also magical quasi-tantric traditions in Southeast Asia, sometimes termed [[Southern Esoteric Buddhism|Esoteric Southern Buddhism]], though they are not called "tantric" and have been marginalised by state supported modernist forms of Theravada Buddhism.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=337-338}}