Sources

The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-origins-of-yoga-and-tantra-indic-religions-to-the-thirteenth-century.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-origins-of-yoga-and-tantra-indic-religions-to-the-thirteenth-century

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-the-origins-of-yoga-and-tantra-indic-rel,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-origins-of-yoga-and-tantra-indic-religions-to-the-thirteenth-century},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Geoffrey Samuel's study traces the historical development of tantric and yogic subtle-body models across Indic religions up to the thirteenth century, working from the textual record of how these systems actually changed over time rather than presenting a single fixed doctrine as timeless. That historical, developmental method, tracking specific doctrinal change through named periods and texts, is the book's real evidentiary basis, not a claim about its press. This record has not independently traced a documented history of scholarly disagreement with Samuel's specific periodization. Use it for the historical development of tantric and yogic subtle-body doctrine through the thirteenth century; a claim about a later, post-thirteenth-century development in a specific tradition needs a source covering that later period.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

Geoffrey Samuel's scholarly study tracing the historical development of tantric and yogic subtle-body models across Indic religions to the thirteenth century, working from the textual record of documented doctrinal change rather than a single fixed doctrine presented as timeless.

Notes

Scholarly account of the historical development of tantric and yogic subtle-body models.

Citation

Author

Geoffrey Samuel

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Publication Year

2008

Source Type

academic monograph

Claims Backed By This Source (221 claims)

This source backs 221 claims across the atlas. As facts: 162 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 10 holds. Plus 47 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Chakras, 55 claims: 46 well-attested, 9 general references.
Nadis, 42 claims: 28 well-attested, 14 general references.
Practices, 27 claims: 24 well-attested, 3 general references.
Articles, 22 claims: 22 well-attested.
Disciplines, 19 claims: 6 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate, 9 holds, 2 general references.
Rituals, 14 claims: 13 well-attested, 1 general references.
Esoteric Texts, 7 claims: 5 well-attested, 2 general references.
Sources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.
Categories, 6 claims: 5 well-attested, 1 general references.
Asanas, 4 claims: 4 general references.
Beliefs & Restrictions, 4 claims: 2 well-attested, 2 general references.
Mantras, 3 claims: 1 well-attested, 2 general references.
Scriptures & Texts, 3 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 general references.
Mudras, 2 claims: 2 general references.
Religious Roles & Titles, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.
Subcategories, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
Denominations, 1 claims: 1 general references.
Sacred Objects & Ritual Items, 1 claims: 1 general references.