While tantric deities' main and most essential forms are usually mantras rather than physical representations, there is considerable overlap between tantric and puranic literature in terms of temple-building and iconography.
- The temple deity is energized via the proper rituals, much as the king's flesh is divinized in the rite of anointing (as in standard temple Hinduism).
- There is a parallelism between the temple and the palace, and the divine body of the monarch in the palace recapitulates the divine body of the god in the temple.
- Temples are a major topic in tantric literature, and the Saiva Siddhanta contains a lot of information on temple building, deity placement, and temple rituals.
The Rauravottaragama specifies octagonal (dravida), round (vesara), and square (nagara) temple styles, as well as the deities to be placed.
- The book recounts the installation of the primary deity, the Siva linga on its pedestal (pitha), the Goddess and her marriage to Siva, and the guards of the doors (dvdrapdla), descriptions that may also be found in other Tantras with minor variations.
- Temple tantrism is still practiced at temples in Tamil Nadu and, particularly, Kerala, where 'tantric Hinduism' is the norm, with certain Nambudiri families relying on the Tantrasamuccaya, a fifteenth-century book.
Even the most extreme goddess cults, the Yoginis, were expressed in temples throughout the early medieval era.
- According to traditional puranic tradition, such temples may be seen as the deity's body, and the difference between tantric and non-tantric gets muddled while discussing the temple.
- Within the institution of that temple, for example, the great Saiva temple at Cidambaram, a center of orthodox power and learning, performed temple rites according to Saiva Siddhanta texts, but there were also non-dualist theologians such as Mahesvarananda writing against dualist interpretations of scripture.
Along with guardians and protectors, medieval temple façade are known for their erotic sculpture, which has sparked widespread attention and is frequently linked with 'Tantrism' and 'tantric art,' particularly in the West, since it seems to blur the line between 'religion' and'sexuality.'
Indeed, the existence of sexual art connected with Tantrism has strengthened the notion that bhukti is mukti, pleasure is freedom, and that bhoga is yoga, pleasure is the technique, in later tantric culture.
However, in order to comprehend these pictures, we must first consider their context and the value systems in place at the time of their creation.
