Kaula (Hinduism)

In the Hindu religious traditions of Shaktism and Shaivism, Kaula, also known as Kula, Kulamārga ("the Kula path") and Kaulācāra ("the Kaula tradition"), is a Tantric tradition which is characterised by distinctive rituals and symbolism connected with the worship of Shakti and Shiva that is associated with cremation-ground or charnel ground asceticism.

Kaula preserves some of the distinctive features of the Kāpālika tradition, from which it is derived. It is subdivided into four subcategories of texts based on the goddesses Kuleśvarī, Kubjikā, Kālī, and Tripurasundarī respectively. The Trika texts are closely related to the Kuleśvarī texts and can be considered as part of the Kulamārga. These subcategories emerged as cults with a wide range of practices—some with mild practices involving worship of Siva or Sadasiva as a householder deity while others involved worshiping ferocious goddesses with blood, alcohol and erotic offerings.

In later Hatha Yoga, the Kaula visualization of kundalini rising through a system of chakras is overlaid onto the earlier bindu-oriented system.