Tantra

[tuhn-truh, tan-]

noun

(italics) Hinduism. any of several books of esoteric doctrine regarding rituals, disciplines, meditation, etc., composed in the form of dialogues between Shiva and his Shakti; Agama.
Also called Tan·trism [tuhn-triz-uh m, tan-] /ˈtʌn trɪz əm, ˈtæn-/. the philosophy or doctrine of these books, regarding the changing, visible world as the creative dance or play of the Divine Mother and regarding enlightenment as the realization of the essential oneness of one's self and of the visible world with Shiva-Shakti, the Godhead: influential in some schools of Mahayana Buddhism, especially in Tibet.

Origin of Tantra

From Sanskrit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tantra

Contemporary Examples of tantra

The musician Sting, a longtime yogi and advocate of Tantra, once claimed he and his wife had “seven hours of sex every night”.
Are Yogasms Real?
Lizzie Crocker
September 28, 2011
In Tantra, like in the movie, spiritual union isn't just between man and woman.
The Tantric Sex in Avatar
Asra Q. Nomani
March 4, 2010
In Tantra, the goddess Shakti is the primordial deity, her name coming from the Sanskrit word shak, meaning "power."
The Tantric Sex in Avatar
Asra Q. Nomani
March 4, 2010
One of the key ingredients of Tantra is the discovery of atman, or true self.
The Tantric Sex in Avatar
Asra Q. Nomani
March 4, 2010
In Tantra, the seventh chakra is the crown chakra, the sahasrara chakra, located at the top of the head.
The Tantric Sex in Avatar
Asra Q. Nomani
March 4, 2010

Historical Examples of tantra

The original meaning of Tantra as applied to literary compositions is a simplified manual.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)
Charles Eliot
As already indicated European usage makes the words Tantra, Tantrism and tantric refer to the worship of goddesses.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)
Charles Eliot
See for some notices of these works A. Avalon's various publications about Tantra.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)
Charles Eliot
Alberuni seems not to have known of this literature and a Tantra for him is merely a minor treatise on astronomy.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)
Charles Eliot
As this was to travel into Japan and be hailed as purest Buddhism, let us note how this tenth century Tantra system grew up.
The Religions of Japan
William Elliot Griffis

British Dictionary definitions for tantra

Tantra

noun

Hinduism Buddhism the sacred books of Tantrism, written between the 7th and 17th centuries ad, mainly in the form of a dialogue between Siva and his wife

Word Origin for Tantra

C18: from Sanskrit: warp, hence underlying principle, from tanoti he weaves

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tantra

type of Hindu religious book, 1799, from Sanskrit tantram, literally "loom, warp," hence "groundwork, system, doctrine," from tan "to stretch, extend," from PIE root *ten- "to stretch, extend" (see tenet).