Tantra
Tantra · tantra, “loom, system, body of teaching”
Grammar: neuter noun, from the root tan (to stretch, to spread): “the warp of a loom”, a framework, a body of teaching.
Meaning: a body of teaching and rite for pūjā; the Tantras, the śāstras of the āgamic pūjā of the devatās.
In the scriptures: the Bhāgavata Purāṇa uses the word in two senses.
In the forest of saṃsāra that Śuka tells Parīkshit, the person afraid of kāla, the cakra of Śrī Hari, passes over Śrī Hari, who is Yajñeśvara himself, and takes refuge in devatās opposed to the Veda, like rāpulugulu, vultures, herons and gavva-piṭṭas. The root of these creeds, which are rejected by those rich in the conduct of the cultured (śishṭas), is tantras without the authority of the Veda (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 14).
When Śrī Hari appeared before the devas before the churning of the ocean, Brahmā praised him: “O Purushottama! People who desire śreyas worship this form of yours with the means taught in the Veda and in the Tantras” (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 8, Chapter 6).
Related terms: Āgama · Veda · Pūjā · Śishṭācāra
Sources
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 14; Skandha 8, Chapter 6