89-567: Tantra is a type of esoteric tradition in Hinduism and Buddhism. Tantra may also refer to: Tantra Traditional Tantra ( / ˈ t ʌ n t r ə / ; 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 . The term tantra , in
178-415: A sphoTa (from sphuT , spurt/burst) is the invariant quality of speech. The noisy element ( dhvani , audible part) can be long or short, but the sphoTa remains unaffected by individual speaker differences. Thus, a single letter or 'sound' ( varNa ) such as k , p or a is an abstraction, distinct from variants produced in actual enunciation. This concept has been linked to the modern notion of phoneme ,
267-508: A 2016 review, that combine Vedic, yogic and meditative traditions from 5th-century Hinduism as well as rival Buddhist and Jain traditions. 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. Tantrism, whether Buddhist or Hindu, can best be characterized as practices,
356-451: 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
445-480: A child which are concerned with the loss of male virility and power. 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 . Instead, White suggests Vedic Srauta texts mention offerings to goddesses Rākā, Sinīvālī, and Kuhū in
534-409: A greater length, in 18 instances, stating that its metaphorical definition of "warp (weaving), extended cloth" is relevant to many contexts. 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
623-791: A manner similar to a tantric ritual. 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. 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. Pre-tantric Buddhism contains elements which could be seen as proto-tantric, and which may have influenced
712-543: 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. 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
801-531: 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". Yet, even this supposed categorical divergence
890-423: 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. 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 Śruti (canonical texts). The Tantrika, to Bhatta, is that literature which forms
979-672: 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
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#17328510371091068-484: A standard part of Yoga, but Tantric practices do not appear in it. 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. According to Lorenzen, Vedic ideas related to
1157-517: Is a 19th-century European invention not present in any Asian language; 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. 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. Robert Brown similarly notes that "tantrism"
1246-411: Is a construct of Western scholarship , not a concept of the religious system itself. 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
1335-718: Is a fourth scholar also named Patanjali, who likely lived in 8th-century and wrote a commentary on Charaka Samhita and this text is called Carakavarttika . The two medical scholars named Patanjali may be the same person, but generally accepted to be completely different person than the Patanjali who wrote the Sanskrit grammar classic Mahabhasya . Patanjali is honoured with invocations and shrines in some modern schools of yoga, including Iyengar Yoga and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga . The yoga scholar David Gordon White writes that yoga teacher training often includes "mandatory instruction" in
1424-435: 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". 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
1513-427: 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. Many definitions of Tantra have been proposed since, and there is no universally accepted definition. André Padoux, in his review of Tantra definitions offers two, then rejects both. One definition, according to Padoux, is found among Tantra practitioners – it
1602-697: Is also mention of fierce demon like deities called rākṣasa and rākṣasī, like the children-eating Hārītī . 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 . A key element of Buddhist Tantric practice
1691-608: Is also referred to as Vairocabhisambodhi-sutra . The various contextual meanings of the word Tantra vary with the Indian text and are summarized in the appended table. 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)". Patanjali in his Mahābhāṣya quotes and accepts Panini's definition, then discusses or mentions it at
1780-470: 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". Tantric traditions have been studied mostly from textual and historical perspectives. Anthropological work on living Tantric tradition
1869-453: Is believed to be an author and compiler of a number of Sanskrit works. The greatest of these are the Yoga Sutras , a classical yoga text. Estimates based on analysis of his works suggests that he may have lived between the 2nd century BCE and the 5th century CE. Patanjali is regarded as an avatar of Adi Sesha . There is speculation as to whether the sage Patañjali is the author of all
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#17328510371091958-403: Is called Āvāpa , such as massaging with oil. (...) 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
2047-558: Is called a tantra . 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. 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
2136-401: 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. To its practitioners, Tantra is defined as a combination of texts, techniques, rituals, monastic practices, meditation, yoga, and ideology. According to Georg Feuerstein , The scope of topics discussed in
2225-524: Is debatable, e.g. Bhagavad Gita v.2:48–53, including: "Yoga is skill in [the performance of] actions." 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". The Rigveda uses words of admiration for these loners, and whether it
2314-475: Is far from the diverse and complex understanding of what Tantra means to those Buddhists, Hindu and Jains who practice it. 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". The challenge of defining Tantra
2403-788: Is generally accepted, but some Western scholars consider them as a single entity. Some in the Indian tradition have held that one Patañjali wrote treatises on grammar, medicine and yoga. This has been memorialised in a verse by Bhoja at the start of his commentary on the Yogasutras called Rājamārttanda (11th century), and the following verse found in Shivarama's 18th-century text: योगेन चित्तस्य पदेन वाचां मलं शरीरस्य च वैद्यकेन। योऽपाकरोत्तं प्रवरं मुनीनां पतञ्जलिं प्राञ्जलिरानतोऽस्मि॥ Yōgēna cittasya padēna vācāṁ malaṁ śarīrasya ca vaidyakēna. Yōpākarōttaṁ pravaraṁ munīnāṁ patañjaliṁ prāñjalirānatōsmi English translation: I bow with my hands together to
2492-451: Is himself", thereby interpreting the definition of tantra. 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. Starting in the early centuries of the common era, newly revealed Tantras centering on Vishnu , Shiva or Shakti emerged. There are tantric lineages in all main forms of modern Hinduism, such as
2581-553: Is not from the Mahābhāṣya. This 10th-century legend of single-authorship is doubtful. The literary styles and contents of the Yogasūtras and the Mahābhāṣya are entirely different, and the only work on medicine attributed to Patañjali is lost. Sources of doubt include the lack of cross-references between the texts, and no mutual awareness of each other, unlike other cases of multiple works by (later) Sanskrit authors. Also, some elements in
2670-438: Is often stated as having claimed there was a hostility between the orthodox Brahminic ( Astika ) groups and the heterodox, nAstika groups ( Buddhism , Jainism , and atheists), like that between a mongoose and a snake. Nathan McGovern argues Patanjali never used this mongoose-snake analogy. Patanjali also sheds light on contemporary events, commenting on the recent Greek incursion, and also on several tribes that lived in
2759-495: 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". 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
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2848-489: Is said to be at Rameswaram Shiva temple and a shrine for him still exists in the temple. Nandhi arulPetra Nadharai Naadinom Nandhigal Nalvar Siva Yoga MaaMuni Mandru thozhuda Patañjali Vyakramar Endrivar Ennodu (Thirumoolar) Enmarumaame Translation We sought the feet of the God who graced Nandikesvara The Four Nandhis , Sivayoga Muni, Patañjali, Vyaghrapada and I (Thirumoolar) We were these eight. Whether
2937-519: 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. According to David N. Lorenzen, two different kinds of definitions of Tantra exist, narrow and broad. According to
3026-418: Is simultaneous union of the masculine-feminine and spirit-matter, and has the ultimate goal of realizing the "primal blissful state of non-duality". 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
3115-402: Is synonymous with physical stretching and little more. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define yoga as "the stilling of the disturbances of the mind". 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 . This
3204-625: 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 sutras . There are other Mahāyāna sutras which contain 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. According to Samuel,
3293-460: The Mahābhāṣya was first critically edited by the 19th-century orientalist Franz Kielhorn, who also developed philological criteria for distinguishing Kātyāyana's "voice" from Patañjali's. Subsequently, a number of other editions have come out, the 1968 text and translation by S.D. Joshi and J.H.F. Roodbergen often being considered definitive. Regrettably, the latter work is incomplete. Patanjali
3382-613: 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
3471-796: 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. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on Indian Buddhist Tantras . They include Indo-Tibetan Buddhism , Chinese Esoteric Buddhism , Japanese Shingon Buddhism and Nepalese Newar Buddhism . Although Southern Esoteric Buddhism does not directly reference
3560-769: The Kapalikas ("skull men", also called Somasiddhatins or Mahavartins ). 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. 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. Kapalikas are depicted in fictional works and also widely disparaged in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain texts of
3649-581: The Kaulas Tantric practices are rare. Reference is made in the early 9th century to vama (left-hand) Tantras of the Kaulas. Literary evidence suggests Tantric Buddhism was probably flourishing by the 7th century. 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. According to Gavin Flood ,
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3738-634: 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
3827-640: The Yoga Sūtras as late as the fourth or fifth century C.E., but these arguments have all been challenged", and late chronology for this Patanjali and his text are problematic. Regarding his early years, the Tamil Saiva Siddhanta tradition from around 10th century AD holds that Patañjali learned Yoga along with seven other disciples from the great Yogic Guru Nandhi Deva ( Nandi (Hinduism) ), as stated in Tirumular 's Tirumandiram (Tantra 1). His Samadhi
3916-536: The 10th century states that the one and the same Patanjali was behind all the three treatises. The sage Patañjali is said to have attained Samadhi through yogic meditation at the Brahmapureeswarar Temple located at Tirupattur , Tamil Nadu , India . Jeeva Samadhi of sage Patanjali, which is now an enclosed meditation hall, can be seen near the Brahma 's shrine within Brahmapureeswarar Temple complex. In
4005-494: The 12th to 19th century, and made a comeback in late 19th century due to the efforts of Swami Vivekananda and others. It gained prominence again as a comeback classic in the 20th century. Before the 20th century, history indicates the Indian yoga scene was dominated by other Yoga texts such as the Bhagavad Gita , Yoga Vasistha and Yoga Yajnavalkya . Scholars consider the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali formulations as one of
4094-523: The 16th-century text Patanjalicarita ascribes to Patañjali a medical text called the Carakapratisaṃskṛtaḥ (now lost) which is apparently a revision ( pratisaṃskṛtaḥ ) of the medical treatise by Caraka. While there is a short treatise on yoga in the medical work called the Carakasaṃhitā (by Caraka), towards the end of the chapter called śārīrasthāna, it is notable for not bearing much resemblance to
4183-744: The 1st century CE. 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 . 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. Padoux mentions an inscription from 423 to 424 CE which mentions
4272-789: The 1st millennium CE. 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. The 6th-century Varāhamihira mentions Kapalikas in his literary works. 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. 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
4361-600: The Chinese pilgrim I-tsing mentions that the Mahabhasya is studied in India and advanced scholars learn it in three years. Self study Practice self study, to commune with your chosen divinity. — Patanjali, Yogasutras II.44 In the Yoga tradition, Patañjali is a revered name. This Patañjali's oeuvre comprises the sutras about Yoga ( Yogasūtra ) and the commentary integral to
4450-431: 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. Thus, the association of tantric practitioners with charnel grounds 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
4539-578: The North." 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. 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". According to Robert Brown, these Buddhist skull-tapping reliefs suggest that tantric practices may have been in vogue by
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#17328510371094628-614: The Northwest regions of the subcontinent. Patanjali is also the reputed author of a medical text called Patanjalah , also called Patanjala or Patanjalatantra . This text is quoted in many yoga and health-related Indian texts. Patanjali is called a medical authority in a number of Sanskrit texts such as Yogaratnakara , Yogaratnasamuccaya , Padarthavijnana , Cakradatta bhasya . Some of these quotes are unique to Patanjala , but others are also found in major Hindu medical treatises such as Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita . There
4717-493: 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;
4806-532: The Yoga Sutras may date from as late as the 4th century C.E., but such changes may be due to divergent authorship, or due to later additions which are not atypical in the oral tradition. Most scholars refer to both works as "by Patanjali", without meaning that they are by the same author. In addition to the Mahābhāṣya and Yoga Sūtras, the 11th-century commentary on Charaka by the Bengali scholar Chakrapani Datta , and
4895-552: The Yoga Sūtras, and in fact presents a form of eightfold yoga that is completely different from that laid out by Patañjali in the Yoga Sūtras and the commentary Yogasūtrabhāṣya. The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali are 196 Indian sutras ( aphorisms ) on Yoga . It was the most translated ancient Indian text in the medieval era, having been translated into about forty Indian languages and two non-Indian languages: Old Javanese and Arabic . The text fell into obscurity for nearly 700 years from
4984-573: The body later diversified into the "mystical anatomy" of nadis and chakras found in Tantra. The yogic component of Tantrism appears clearly in Bāṇabhaṭṭa 's Harshacharita and Daṇḍin 's Dashakumaracharita . 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. According to Geoffrey Samuel ,
5073-469: The case of Buddhism, its own canonical works. 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. 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
5162-515: The commentaries on it published in the first millennium CE. Edwin Bryant, on the other hand, surveys the major commentators in his translation of the Yoga Sūtras . He states that "most scholars date the text shortly after the turn of the Common Era (circa first to second century), but that it has been placed as early as several centuries before that." Bryant concludes that "A number of scholars have dated
5251-572: 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. Samuel also notes that sexual rituals and
5340-693: The context of elaborating on Pāṇini's aphorisms, he also discusses Kātyāyana 's commentary, which are also aphoristic and sūtra -like; in the later tradition, these were transmitted as embedded in Patañjali's discussion. In general, he defends many positions of Pāṇini which were interpreted somewhat differently in Katyayana. Unlike Pāṇini's objectives in the Ashtyadhyayi, which is to distinguish correct forms and meanings from incorrect ones ( shabdaunushasana ), Patanjali's objectives are more metaphysical. These include
5429-479: The correct recitations of the scriptures ( Agama ), maintaining the purity of texts ( raksha ), clarifying ambiguity ( asamdeha ), and also the pedagogic goal of providing an easier learning mechanism ( laghu ). This stronger metaphysical bent has also been indicated by some as one of the unifying themes between the Yoga Sutras and the Mahābhāṣya, although a close examination of actual Sanskrit usage by Woods showed no similarities in language or terminology. The text of
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#17328510371095518-475: The cremation places. 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
5607-559: The cults of nature spirit-deities like Yakṣas and Nagas . Yakṣa cults were an important part of early Buddhism . Yakṣas are powerful nature spirits which were sometimes seen as guardians or protectors. 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 . 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
5696-464: 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. These magical spells or chants were used for various reasons, such as for protection , and for the generation of auspiciousness . Mahayana incantations are called dhāraṇīs . Some Mahayana sutras incorporate the use of mantras ,
5785-535: 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. 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. 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. By
5874-415: 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. These ascetics would have been supported by low castes living at
5963-400: 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." Patanjali Patanjali ( Sanskrit : पतञ्जलि , IAST : Patañjali , Sanskrit pronunciation: [pɐtɐɲdʑɐli] ; also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra ) was an author, mystic and philosopher in ancient India . He
6052-443: The eminent sage Patañjali, who removed the impurities of the mind through yoga, of speech through grammar, and of the body through medicine. This tradition is discussed by Meulenbeld who traces this "relatively late" idea back to Bhoja (11th century), who was perhaps influenced by a verse by Bhartṛhari (ca. 5th century) that speaks of an expert in yoga, medicine and grammar who, however, is not named. No known Sanskrit text prior to
6141-468: The examples he used to explain his ideas, the chronology of ancient classical Sanskrit texts that respect his teachings, and the mention of his text or his name in ancient Indian literature. Of the three ancient grammarians, the chronological dating of Patanjali to mid 2nd century B.C. is considered as "reasonably accurate" by mainstream scholarship. The text influenced Buddhist grammatical literature, as well as memoirs of travellers to India. For example,
6230-491: The foundations of classical Yoga philosophy of Hinduism. The Mahābhāṣya ("great commentary") of Patañjali on the Aṣṭādhyāyī of Pāṇini is a major early exposition on Pāṇini, along with the somewhat earlier Varttika by Katyayana . Patanjali relates to how words and meanings are associated – Patanjali claims shabdapramâNaH – that the evidentiary value of words is inherent in them, and not derived externally –
6319-521: The founding of a temple to terrifying deities called "the mothers". 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. Shaivite ascetics seem to have been involved in
6408-489: The grammatical tradition, Patañjali is believed to have lived in the second century BCE. He wrote a Mahabhasya on Panini's sutras, in a form that quoted the commentary of Kātyāyana 's vārttikas . This is a major influential work on Sanskrit grammar and linguistics. The dating of Patanjali and his Mahabhasya is established by a combination of evidence: that from the Maurya Empire period, the historical events mentioned in
6497-471: The hand"). Many scholars including Louis Renou have suggested that the Patañjali who wrote on Yoga was a different person than the Patanjali who wrote a commentary on Panini's grammar. In 1914, James Wood proposed that they were the same person. In 1922, Surendranath Dasgupta presented a series of arguments to tentatively propose that the famed Grammar text and the Yoga text author may be identical. The view that these were likely two different authors
6586-417: The iconography of tantra. Hindu texts describing these topics are called Tantras, Āgamas or Samhitās . Tantra ( Sanskrit : तन्त्र ) literally means "loom, warp, weave". 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". The connotation of
6675-504: The initial development of Tantra, particularly the transgressive elements dealing with the charnel ground. According to Samuel, one group of Shaiva ascetics, the 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. Early Tantric practices are sometimes attributed to Shaiva ascetics associated with Bhairava,
6764-507: 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. Samuel also notes that in the Mahabharata , one of
6853-454: 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. 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. Tantrism is an overarching term for "Tantric traditions", states David Gray in
6942-539: The meaning of " warp (weaving) ". It is found in many other Vedic era texts, such as in section 10.7.42 of the Atharvaveda and many Brahmanas . In these and post-Vedic texts, the contextual meaning of Tantra is that which is "principal or essential part, main point, model, framework, feature". In the Smritis and epics of Hinduism (and Jainism), the term means "doctrine, rule, theory, method, technique or chapter" and
7031-456: The minimum distinction that defines semantically distinct sounds. Thus a phoneme is an abstraction for a range of sounds. However, in later writings, especially in Bhartrihari (6th century CE), the notion of sphoTa changes to become more of a mental state, preceding the actual utterance, akin to the lemma . Patañjali's writings also elaborate some principles of morphology ( prakriyā ). In
7120-416: The narrow definition, Tantrism, or "Tantric religion", is the elite traditions directly based on the Sanskrit texts called the Tantras, Samhitas, and Agamas. Lorenzen's "broad definition" extends this by including a broad range of "magical beliefs and practices" such as Yoga and Shaktism . The term "yoga" is broadly attributed to many traditions and practices, including the western assumption that yoga
7209-409: The nature of enlightenment; and not least, sacred sexuality. Hindu puja , temples and iconography all show tantric influence. 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". The term tantrism
7298-618: The path of the mysterious wind". 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. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad describes breath control that became
7387-658: The sutras, called the Bhāṣya . Some consider the sutras and the Bhaṣya to have had different authors, the commentary being ascribed to "an editor" (Skt. "vyāsa"). According to Phillipp Maas, the same person named Patanjali composed the sutras and the Bhāṣya commentary. Radhakrishnan and Moore attribute the text to the grammarian Patañjali, dating it as 2nd century BCE , during the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE). Maas estimates Patañjali's Yogasutra's date to be about 400 CE, based on tracing
7476-688: 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 . 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. Certain modes of non- Vedic worship such as Puja are considered tantric in their conception and rituals. Hindu temple building also generally conforms to
7565-593: The two works, the Yoga Sutras and the Mahābhāṣya , are by the same author has been the subject of considerable debate. The authorship of the two is first attributed to the same person in Bhojadeva's Rajamartanda , a relatively late (10th century) commentary on the Yoga Sutras, as well as several subsequent texts. As for the texts themselves, the Yoga Sutra iii.44 cites a sutra as that from Patanjali by name, but this line itself
7654-481: The word tantra to mean an esoteric practice or religious ritualism is a colonial era European invention. 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. It implies "interweaving of traditions and teachings as threads" into a text, technique or practice. The word appears in the hymns of the Rigveda such as in 10.71, with
7743-521: The word appears both as a separate word and as a common suffix, such as atma-tantra meaning "doctrine or theory of Atman (Self)". 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
7832-507: The word-meaning association is natural. These issues in the word-meaning relation ( symbol ) would be elaborated in the Sanskrit linguistic tradition, in debates between the Mimamsa , Nyaya and Buddhist schools over the next fifteen centuries. Patanjali also defines an early notion of sphota , which would be elaborated considerably by later Sanskrit linguists like Bhartrihari . In Patanjali,
7921-534: The works attributed to him, as there are a number of known historical authors of the same name. A great deal of scholarship has been devoted over the 20th century to the issue of the historicity or identity of this author or these authors. Amongst the more important authors called Patañjali are: According to Monier Monier-Williams , the word "Patañjali" is a compound name from "patta" (Sanskrit: पत, "falling, flying") and "añj" (अञ्ज्, "honor, celebrate, beautiful") or "añjali" (अञ्जलि, "reverence, joining palms of
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