sects also develop a range of divinities or special
powers that are worshipped only in the context of
their particular cult.
There is some evidence of tantrism in Jain
tradition, mostly limited to the use of tantric style
mantras and certain hints of tantric sexuality. No
full tantric practice is known to have emerged in
JAINISM. This was primarily due to the severity of
Jain asceticism, and the nature of reality accord-
ing to Jainism, which left no room for pursuit of
enlightenment through desire.
Further reading: Agehananda Bharati, The Tantric
Tradition (New York: Grove Press, 1975); N. N. Bhat-
tacharyya, History of the Tantric Religion: A Historical,
Ritualistic and Philosophical Study (Delhi: Manohar,
1982); Douglas Renfrew Brooks, Auspicious Wisdom:
The Texts and Traditions of Sri Vidya Sakta Tantrism
(Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992);
John Cort, “Worship of Bell-Ears the Great Hero, a Jain
Tantric Deity,” in David Gordon White, ed., Tantra in
Practice (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,
2000); Shashibhusan Dasgupta, Obscure Religious Cults
(Calcutta: Firma KLM, 1995); Edward C. Dimock,
The Place of the Hidden Moon: Erotic Mysticism in the
Vaisnavasahajiya Cult of Bengal (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1966); Michael Dyczkowski, The
Doctrine of Vibration: An Analysis of the Doctrines and
Practices of Kashmir Shaivism (Delhi: Motilal Banar-
sidass, 1975); Sanjukta Gupta, Dirk Jan Hoens, and
Teun Goudriaan, Hindu Tantrism (Leiden: E. J. Brill,
1979); Mohanlal Bhagwandas Jhavery, Comparative
and Critical Study of Mantrasastra (with Special Treat-
ment of the Jain Mantravada) (Ahmedabad: Sarabhai
Manilal Nawab, 1944); Paul Muller-Ortega, The Triadic
Heart of Siva (Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1969); Lilian Silburn, Kundalini, the Energy of the
Depths: A Comprehensive Study Based on the Scriptures
of Nondualistic Kasmir Saivism. Translated by Jacques
Gontier (Albany: State University of New York Press,
1988); Sir John Woodruffe (Arthur Avalon), Introduc-
tion to Tantra Shastra, 2d ed. (Madras: Ganesh, 1952);
———, Sakti and Sakta, 6th ed. (Madras: Ganesh,
1965).
tapas (tapasya)
Tapas (heat) or tapasya is a concept of great
importance in Hindu practices of austerity. The
word refers to the sacred heat that is generated
by bodily mortifications and ascetic denial. Tapas
confers wondrous powers and abilities upon the
YOGI and makes it easier for the adept to break the
bonds of attachment to worldly life.
In a very literal example of tapas, ancient
orthodox yogis used to sit surrounded by five fires
under the noonday Sun in order to absorb the heat
and gain spiritual power. Other ascetics doing
tapasya would endure lengthy fasts or extreme
bodily mortifications. There is some indication
that the notion of tapasya developed within the
Brahminical tradition as a result of association
with the fires of the Vedic sacrifice.Further reading: Walter O. Kaelber, Tapta Marga:
Asceticism and Initiation in Vedic India (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1989); Klaus K. Klos-
termaier, A Survey of Hinduism (Albany: State University
of New York Press, 1990); David M. Knipe, In the Image
of Fire: Vedic Experiences of Heat (Delhi: Motilal Banar-
sidass, 1975).tat tvam asi See VEDANTA.
Tattvartha Sutra (c. 200 C.E.)
The Tattvartha Sutra was composed by the great
Jain Acarya (Saint) Umasvami (or Umasvati). It is
the first text of JAINISM written in SANSKRIT (the ear-
lier ones, which are no longer extant, were written
in Prakrit, the vernacular tongue that developed
from Sanskrit). The Tattvartha Sutra is the first
extant text of the Jains, and it systematizes the
canonical teachings into an integrated philosophi-
cal school. It is written in the concise aphoristic
style typical of Indian texts designated as SUTRAS.
The Tattvartha Sutra plays a similar authorita-
tive role in Jain tradition as the VEDANTA SUTRA
of BADARAYANA or the YOGA SUTRA of PATANJALI inTattvartha Sutra 439 J