Tantras in Hinduism are esoteric scriptures.
A Hindu Tantric Painting. India, Pahari, circa 1780-1800. Depicting from top to bottom: Shiva, Sakti, Vishnu with his conch, Brahma sprouting from his navel, and Lakshmi. Below is Harihara and four-headed Brahma. At bottom is Trimurti. All painted against a gold ground forming the stylized seed syllable Om.
A tantric form of the Hindu Goddess Kali. Folio from a book of Iconography, Nepal, 17th century.
The Kashmir Shaivism tradition, also called Trika Shaivism, is a non-dualist branch of Shaiva-Shakta Tantra Hinduism that originated in Kashmir after 850 CE. In its place of origin in Kashmir, this tradition is commonly referred to as "Kashmiri Shaivism." It later spread beyond Kashmir, with its great scholar Abhinavagupta calling it "Trika". It particularly flourished in the states of Odisha and Maharashtra. Defining features of the Trika tradition are its idealistic and monistic Pratyabhijna ("Recognition") philosophical system, propounded by Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta, and the centrality of the three goddesses Parā, Parāparā, and Aparā.
Shiva and Parvati (which is associated with Shakti), Kashmir, 10 or 11th century.
Painting of a priest and worshippers at a Shiva temple in Srinagar, Kashmir, circa 1850–1860
Tantric initiation (dīkṣa) is necessary for undertaking the tantric practices of Trika Saivism.
Schist statue of Shiva Mahadeva, Northern India, Kashmir, 8th century. Cleveland Museum of Art.
