Tantric Influences on Hindu Medical Traditions: Tracing the Historical Development of Body-Centered Healing Practices

Tantric Influences on Hindu Medical Traditions: Tracing the Historical Development of Body-Centered Healing Practices

Authors- Professor Dr. Harikumar Pallathadka, Professor Dr. Parag Deb Roy

Abstract--This study investigates the historical interconnections between Tantric philosophical and ritual systems and the development of Hindu medical traditions, particularly Āyurveda and regional healing practices. Through analysis of Sanskrit medical texts, Tantric manuscripts, and ethnographic research on contemporary traditional practitioners, this research traces how Tantric concepts of the subtle body, energetic systems, and ritual healing techniques have influenced and been incorporated into mainstream Hindu medical knowledge. The paper argues that despite scholarly tendencies to separate “religious” and “medical” domains, historical evidence reveals significant theoretical and practical overlaps that continue to shape contemporary healing practices. Case studies examining specific therapeutic techniques, diagnostic methods, and pharmacological preparations demonstrate the ongoing dialogue between Tantric and medical traditions. This research contributes to medical anthropology, history of medicine, and Tantric studies by illuminating previously underexplored connections between these knowledge systems and challenging artificial divisions between scientific and religious domains in the study of South Asian healing traditions.

DOI: /10.61463/ijset.vol.13.issue3.168