A plural map of lineages
Tantric Schools and Traditions
तान्त्रिक-परम्परा
“Tantric” describes a family resemblance across many traditions, not a single church or school. Names, classifications and boundaries vary by scholar, practitioner and historical period.
Śaiva traditions
Śaiva Siddhānta
A major temple and initiatory tradition with influential Sanskrit and Tamil textual worlds; historically widespread beyond its strongest living presence in South India.
Mantramārga and Bhairava traditions
A broad field of initiatory Śaiva systems involving mantra, deity worship, ritual power and liberation.
Non-dual Śaivism
Traditions associated with Kashmir include Trika and Krama currents and authors such as Abhinavagupta; “Kashmir Shaivism” is a useful modern umbrella, not one ancient institution.
Śākta traditions
Śrīvidyā
Worship centred on Tripurasundarī, the Śrīcakra, mantra and layered ritual interpretation, transmitted in distinct lineages.
Kaula currents
Diverse goddess-oriented and body-oriented systems, some using transgressive rites under controlled initiatory conditions.
Kālī and regional goddess traditions
Textual and ritual worlds focused on Kālī and other goddesses vary across Bengal, Kerala, Nepal and other regions.
Vaiṣṇava and other Hindu tantric systems
Pāñcarātra and related Vaiṣṇava traditions developed sophisticated systems of temple installation, mantra, visualisation and theology. Tantric influence also appears across Smārta, Saura, Gaṇapatya and regional practice.
Buddhist and Jain contexts
Buddhist tantric traditions developed in India and became central to Tibetan Vajrayāna. Related esoteric traditions travelled through Nepal, China and Japan, where they took distinct institutional forms such as Shingon.
Jain communities also developed mantra, deity, diagram and protective practices that scholars may describe as tantric. These remain grounded in Jain ethical and doctrinal worlds and should not be treated as borrowed Hinduism.
How to compare responsibly
Compare a named text, lineage, ritual or historical period—not an abstract “Tantra.” Similar vocabulary may conceal different metaphysics and goals, while different vocabulary may serve comparable ritual functions.
Learning note
Read with context
Use this map to find a tradition worth studying more closely, not to rank lineages or combine their practices. Initiation-dependent methods belong with qualified tradition-specific teachers.
Use this page as an orientation. When exact wording, translation or tradition-specific practice matters, follow the named source or ask the mentor to help you compare interpretations.
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