Sutras and Tantras

Sutra [सूत्र] means thread, derived from /siv/, to sew. When applied to scripture (shastra, शास्त्र), it means a text wherein core ideas around a certain subject are stitched or sewn together. Technically, sutras are written in a very terse language, making them easy to memorize. The language is so terse that context is often left out, and it is very difficult to understand sutras without extensive commentary or explanation. Sutra literature of Sanatana Dharma comprises of hundreds of texts that begin, historically, at the end of the Vedic age covering a every imaginable subject from Vedic rites and rituals, philosophies, linguistics, Dharma, bhakti, medicine, astronomy, etc. In many cases, a sutra text forms the foundational basis for a given system. For example, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is the first encoding of Yoga philosophy.  

Famous extant sutras of Shaivism include the Pashupata Sutras, Shiva Sutras, Vatulanatha Sutras, and Meykanda Sutras (Sivagnanabodham). Early core of early Shaivite Tantras (Agamas) also likely began as sutras, even if they don't fit into the category of terseness in language. This principle is clear in the Nishvasatattvasamhita, and implied in the titles of Svayambhuva and Raurava Agamas both of which are termed sutra-sangraha (collection of sutras). 

The literal meaning of tantra [तन्त्र] is loom, derived from /tan/, to stretch. When applied to shastra, it means a text wherein a complex range of ideas are woven elaborately together incorporating both philosophy and practice. Tantras are generally written in poetic meters (shloka or anushtup chandas) and are very voluminous. Tantra literature of Sanatana Dharma comprises of hundreds of texts that also begin, historically, after the end of the Vedic age and experienced efflorescence during the first millennium of the common era. Tantric literature spans a variety of topics, but largely focusing on ritual, practice, theology and philosophy. Whereas the Vedic literature espouses a fire ritual called Yajna, the Tantric literature endorses a ritual called Puja using consecrated icons and recommended for the Kaliyuga, the age of discord. 

Generally, the extant Tantric texts of Sanatana Dharma are divided into three categories - Shaiva, Shakta and Vaishnava. The Shaiva-Shakta system is conjoined and the Tantras of this system represent a continuum of ever-evolving esoteric knowledge traditions which presuppose older, simpler forms of the same. Therefore, the epistemology and ontology of both is similar, if not the same. Hundreds of Tantric texts or Agamas have come into existence through the sub-traditions of the Shaiva-Shakta system; most of them lost and many of the remaining untranslated. The Tantric literature of what we term Shaivism proper encompasses the 92 principal Shaiva Agamas divided into 10 Shiva, 18 Rudra, and 64 Bhairava Agamas. While this system of thought within Sanatana Dharma has remained distinct, running parallel to the Vedic-Vedantic system, in truth the latter has been strongly influenced and subsumed by it.

Aum Namah Shivaya.