History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c92.3

v7.c92.3

There is a vast literature on Tantras, published and unpublished There are Buddhist Tantras, Hindu Tantras and Jaina Tantras. There is a philosophical or spiritual side in some of the Tantras which has not been much studied except by Arthur Avalon, B Bhattacharya and a few others. In the popular mind Tantras have been associated with the worship of Śakti (Goddess Kālī), with mudrās, mantras, maṇḍalas, the five *makāras*, the Dakṣiṇamārga and the Vāma-mārga, and magic practices for acquiring supernatural powers All that can and will be attempted here is to trace briefly the origin of Śāktism and Tantra and point out some of the ways in which *tantra* has entered into Hindu ritual directly and indirectly through the Purāṇas.