Tantra (Sanskrit: तन्त्र) literally means "loom, weave" and generally refers to esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that co-developed most likely about the middle of 1st millennium CE. The term Tantra, in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". In Hinduism, the Tantra tradition is most often associated with its goddess tradition called Shaktism, followed by Shaivism and Vaishnavism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana tradition is known for its extensive Tantra ideas and practices. Tantric Hindu and Buddhist traditions have influenced other religious traditions such as Jainism, Sikhism, the Tibetan Bön tradition, Daoism, and the Japanese Shintō tradition. Tantra as genre of literature in Hinduism have been influential to its arts, icons and temple building practices. Hindu puja, temples and iconography are tantric in nature. The Hindu texts that describe these topics are either called Tantras, Āgamas or Samhitās. In Buddhism, its Tantra-genre literature has influenced the artworks in Tibet, historic cave temples of India, and imagery in southeast Asia.

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