Tantra

American  

[tuhn-truh, tan-] / ˈtʌn trə, ˈtæn- /

noun

1. (italics) any of several books of esoteric doctrine regarding rituals, disciplines, meditation, etc., composed in the form of dialogues between Shiva and his Shakti; Agama.

2. Also called Tantrism.  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.

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Tantra British  

/ ˈtʌn-, ˈtæntrə /

noun

1. 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

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Etymology

Origin of Tantra

From Sanskrit

Example Sentences

Tantra is clearly a persistent and alluring ancient philosophy.

From The Guardian • Sep. 21, 2020

Singh, who is co-owner of Tantra in Silver Lake and India's Oven, wanted to create a restaurant that combines influences from Rajasthan, New Delhi, Goa, Chennai, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2018

Citing history, science, Tantra, and her own online questionnaires, Wolf concludes that the vagina is “the delivery system for the states of mind that we call confidence, liberation, self-realization, and even mysticism in women.”

From Salon • Sep. 12, 2012

In medieval India, Tantra devotees sought to fuse the male and female aspects of the cosmos into a blissful state of consciousness.

From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2012

This work is known by the analysis of Rajendralala Mitra from which it appears to be a Tantra of the worst class and probably late.

From Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 2 by Eliot, Charles, Sir