The Hindu Tantric World: An Overview

238 Pages·2017·1.048 MB·English

by  André Padoux

The Hindu Tantric World

The Hindu
Tantric World
An Overview
Andre Padoux
´
The University of Chicago Press
Chicago and London
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2017 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2017.
Printed in the United States of America
26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 1 2 3 4 5
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 42393- 7 (cloth)
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 42409- 5 (paper)
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 42412- 5 (e- book)
doi: 10.7208/chicago/9780226424125.001.0001
Originally published as André Padoux, Comprendre le tantrisme: Les sources hindoues
(Paris: Albin Michel, 2010).
© Editions Albin Michel— Paris 2010
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Padoux, André, author.
Title: The Hindu Tantric world : an overview / André Padoux.
Other titles: Comprendre le tantrisme. English
Description: Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2017. | “Originally
published as André Padoux, Comprendre le tantrisme: Les sources hindoues
(Paris: Albin Michel, 2010).” | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: lccn 2016025208 | isbn 9780226423937 (cloth : alk. paper) |
isbn 9780226424095 (pbk. : alk. paper) | isbn 9780226424125 (e-book)
Subjects: lcsh: Tantrism. | Tantrism—History.
Classifi cation: lcc bl1283.84 .p3413 2017 | ddc 294.5/514—dc23 lc record available
at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016025208
This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso z39.48– 1992 (Permanence of
Paper).
To the memory of A- C, irreplaceable life companion

The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.
william blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Contents
Note on the Pronunciation and Transcription of Sanskrit xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Preface xv
part i The Hindu Tantric Domain
1 The Hindu Tantric Field: Terminology and Attempts at Defi ning a
Tantric Domain 3
2 Origins, History, Expansion 18
3 The Textual Material 29
4 Tantric Traditions: Fundamental Notions, Beliefs, and Speculations 44
part ii The Tantric World
5 The Tantric Body 73
6 Sex 86
7 The Tantric Word: Mantras 98
8 Tantric Ritual 113
9 The Spiritual Aspect 126
10 Tantric Places or Practices 136
part iii Tantra Today
11 Tantra in India 153
12 Tantra in the West 166
Notes 177
Glossary 199
Bibliographical References 205
Index 211