Kalacakratantra, Kālacakratantra, Kalacakra-tantra: 2 definitions
Introduction:
Kalacakratantra means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
Alternative spellings of this word include Kalachakratantra.
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In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Kālacakratantra (कालचक्रतन्त्र) refers to the famous Tantra of the Buddhists which introduces the cult of Kālacakra into Buddhism.—Vimalaprabhā is the commentary on the Kālacakratantra which is referred to in the Niṣpannayogāvalī. It is thus probable that the cult of Kālacakra came into vogue in the 10th century. According to the Kālacakratantra, the cult was given the name of Ādibuddhayāna or Ādiyāna. From the Vimalaprabhā it is evident that by introducing the worship of Kālacakra, the circle of time, an attempt was made to bring the warring communities of the Hindus and the Buddhists under the same banner, and unite them against the cultural penetration of the Mlecchas from the Western borders of India where the followers of Islam were daily growing strong and were destroying old and ancient civilizations.
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Kālacakratantra (in Sanskrit) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 時輪坦陀羅 [shí lún tǎn tuó luó]: “Kālacakra-tantra” [Sanskrit text name]; Alternatively: “Dus kyi ’khor lo rgyud” [Tibetan text name].
2) 時輪怛特羅 [shí lún dá tè luó]: “Kālacakra-tantra” [Sanskrit text name].
Note: kālacakratantra can be alternatively written as: kālacakra-tantra.
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Kalacakra, Tantra.
Full-text (+281): Shi lun da te luo, Manjushrikirti, Vimalaprabha, Ye she wang, Kalacakra, Shi lun mi fa, Thi luan dan dac la, Thi luan dat da la, Shi lun tan tuo luo, Yantra, Thina, Bindu, Nada, Hathayoga, Jonang, Prana, Dharmodaya, Pemakar, Zangpo, Sakyong.
Relevant text
Search found 15 books and stories containing Kalacakratantra, Kālacakratantra, Kalacakra-tantra, Kālacakra-tantra; (plurals include: Kalacakratantras, Kālacakratantras, tantras). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Hevajra Tantra (analytical study) (by Seung Ho Nam)
1. Buddhist Tantric Literature < [Chapter 2 - Place of Hevajra Tantra in Tantric Literature]
2.1. History of Hevajra Tantra < [Chapter 2 - Place of Hevajra Tantra in Tantric Literature]
3.2. The Completion Stage < [Chapter 3 - Tantric Doctrine in Hevajra Tantra]
Love me for the Sake of the World < [Volume 11, Issue 3 (2020)]
Consecrated Medicines and Spiritual Practices < [Volume 16, Issue 3 (2025)]
Other-Emptiness in the Work of an Unknown Mystic Illuminating the Path to... < [Volume 16, Issue 4 (2025)]
Blue Annals (deb-ther sngon-po) (by George N. Roerich)
Chapter 21 - Shong ston rdo rje rgyal mtshan < [Book 10 - The Kālacakra]
Chapter 8 - Second incarnation series (iii): yag sde pan chen < [Book 8 - The famous Dakpo Kagyü (traditions)]
Chapter 2 - Date of the Kālacakra-tantra < [Book 10 - The Kālacakra]
The Indian Buddhist Iconography (by Benoytosh Bhattachacharyya)
Ganitatilaka (Sanskrit text and English introduction) (by H. R. Kapadia)
Page 206 < [Sanskrit Text of the Ganitatilaka]
Guhyagarbha Tantra (with Commentary) (by Gyurme Dorje)
1. The rNying-ma School and the Three Inner Classes of Tantra < [Introduction]
Text 9.14 (Commentary) < [Chapter 9 (Text And Commentary)]
10b. The Zur Lineage in Central Tibet < [Introduction]