Kaula, also known as Kula, Kulamaarga ("the Kula path") and Kaulaachaara ("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, found in Shaktism and Shaivism. Different types of Kulacharam were practiced in Assam, Mithila, Kashmir, Bengal, Tripura and Kerala as its primary worships.

Kaula preserves some of the distinctive features of the Kapaalika tradition, from which it is derived. It is subdivided into four subcategories of texts based on the goddesses Kuleshvari, Kubjikaa, Kali, and Tripurasundari respectively. The Trika texts are closely related to the Kuleśvarī texts and can be considered as a 'domesticised' part of the Kulamaarga. These subcategories emerged as cults with a wide range of practices—some with mild practices involving worship of Siva or Sadashiva 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.

The translation of the term kula in English is considered difficult and has raised some problems for researchers. The basic meaning is "family", "group" or "self-contained unit". This is explained by Gavin Flood as referring to the retinues of minor goddesses depicted in the schools' literature.

Philosophically the term is said to represent a unifying connectedness, beneath the various objects, processes and living entities of this world, which may be identified with these goddesses as aspects of the supreme deity, in some regions the god Shiva, elsewhere a goddess. Another meaning sometimes given to the term kaula is that of a "group of people" engaged together in the practice of spiritual discipline.

Kaula practices are based on tantra, closely related to the siddha tradition and Shaktism (if those siddhas relate themselves to divya or manava streams, one can easily find their texts; if the siddhas belong to the siddha stream proper which relates to daityas and danavas, a curious mind is yet to find something textual about that). Kaula sects are noted for their extreme exponents who recommend the flouting of taboos and social mores as a means of liberation. Such practices were often later toned down to appeal to ordinary householders, as in Kashmiri Shaivism.

According to M. P. Pandit, in Kashmir Shaivism "There are four ways of effecting this liberation: Kaula Marga, where the individual pursues yogic practices; Shakti Marga, mainly through the awakening and rise of the Kundalini Power; Shunya Marga, arriving at the non-duality of Shiva through an act of Grace; Ananda Marga, instant self-recognition resulting in perpetual bliss."

The concepts of purity, sacrifice, freedom, the spiritual master (guru) and the heart are core concepts of the Kaula tradition.