The origin and development of Tantric Buddhism in India has not yet been adequately reported and seldom attracts attention. Dr. B. Bhattacharyya has stated that Tantra was transmitted in the most secret manner possible through an unbroken chain of gurus and disciples, till it gained currency after about 300 years, that is to say, in the seventh, eighth and ninth centuries of the Christian Era, at a time when Vajrayāna had already made great headway and was almost casting into the shade the original and the purer form of the Buddhist religion. But with reference to Chinese versions, we can point out the archetype of Esoteric Buddhism from the fifth or the sixth century in accordance with the three elements of Mantra, Mandala and Mudrā. I conclude that the dawn of Tantric Buddhism is earlier than the era mentioned above. In this paper, I try to describe the development of Tantric or Esoteric Buddhism in India up to the beginning of the thirteenth century. The paper is divided into five sections. Section 1 is the preface. Section 2 presents the arising of esoteric thought in the social substratum. Section 3 describes the socio-political situation in Southern India and the establishment of Tantric or Esoteric Buddhism. Section 4 focuses on the Pāla Dynasties and the appearance of Vajrayāna Buddhism. Section 5 depicts the final Tantric or Esoteric Buddhism of Southern Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, above all in Sumatra and Tibet.
