HINDU TANTRIC LITERATURE. The genre of religious literature known as Tantra exists in all traditional South Asian religions—Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina, and folk religions. The Hindu Tantras are also divided into Śaiva, Śākta, and Vaiṣṇava. The literature classed as Tantra is not a coherent group of texts, nor are the texts always comprised of any homogeneous materials. Sometimes the name Tantra is replaced by Āgama, Nigama, and Saṃhitā, especially when the texts want to emphasize their affinity to the Vedas. There is a convention that Śaiva Tantras are called Āgamas, Vaiṣṇava Tantras are called Saṃhitās, and Śākta Tantras are known as Tantras. But there is no regularity in these divisions. Therefore, Tantric literature must be defined as a theistic literature mainly focused on the cult of one or several deities.

Sometimes a single godhead is the focal point of...