A Foray into the Agamas of Hinduism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\u2018Agama\u2019 literally means, that which has been bequeathed or \u2018come down.\u2019 They are an assemblage of scriptures of a gamut of Hindu devotional schools, with three main branches: Shaivism (of Lord Shiva), Vaishnavism (of Lord Vishnu) and Shaktism (of Adi Shakti). The Agama literature is very copious and includes: 28 Shaiva Agamas, 77 Shakta Agamas, which are also called \u2018tantras\u2019 (Hindu mystical texts), and 108 Vaishnava Agamas.<\/p>\n\n\n
Most of the plenipotentiaries, such as, Sanjukta Gupta, of the Hindu tradition asserted that the maxims of these Agamas brought out the true spirit of the Vedas (ancient scriptures, meaning, \u2018to know\u2019 or to have knowledge of). Agamas teach systematic methods of spirituality that involve worship in the form of rituals, pujas (acts of worship) and yajnas (a ritual sacrifice with a particular objective), but they also lay down the means to live the lifestyle of the Gods themselves \u2013 the Shivagamas especially stand for this.<\/p>\n\n\n
In this discussion we focus on the Agama texts of Shaivism, which assert the Advaitic or non-dualistic truths, stating absolute \u2018oneness\u2019 and charting a course that leads to enlightenment.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nDelving into the <\/strong>S<\/strong>ivagamas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\nShaivism is one of the biggest branches of Hinduism and the available literature of the Shaiva system is abundant. The Shivagamas were directly delivered by Lord Shiva to Devi, to some of the sages and the adherents of the Shaivite order, such as Kaushika, Kashyapa, Agastya, Gautama, Narada, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n
Each Shivagama upholds a particular set of instructions, be it for priests who want to conduct homas and pujas, or for people who want to live the lifestyle of Lord Shiva and who want to strengthen the connection with Him. These Agamas are also meant for those who strive for enlightenment, or simply for those individuals who wish to follow Lord Shiva\u2019s dictums and live His very life. <\/p>\n\n\n
There are per se ten Shivagamas that could be traced through the Himalayan Academy (but there are eighteen more) and these are translated into English by Dr. S.P. Sabharathanam Sivacharyar. The following are ten Sivagamas explained briefly: <\/p>\n\n\n
- \n\tKamika Agama Purva Pada (Part 1)<\/strong> – It is the fundamental\n\tShaiva Agama. This Agama constitutes\n\tthe \u2018primary source\u2019 for in-depth details on personal and daily\n\tworship, food, lifestyle, temple construction, practice of rituals,\n\tobservance of auspicious times, examination of omens, etc.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
- \n\tKamika Agama Uttara Pada (Part 2) <\/strong>– This book or the second\n\tsection of the Kamika Agama deals with directions for the following:\n\tworship of Shivalinga that is west or\n\tsouth facing, performing and celebrating daily and grand festivals,\n\tperformance of pujas, and performance of Samaya and Vishesha\n\tinitiations, etc.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
- \n\tKamika Agama (Grantha) <\/strong>– It is one of the longest Agamas\n\tfollowed by most temples in South India. It is indisputably looked\n\tupon as the feet of Lord Shiva. It\n\tdeals with all rituals from turning the sod or mud to installation\n\tof deities. It is a complete manual for priests, the layman and the\n\tcurious scholar who are interested in the details, significance and\n\tsymbolism of Agamic worship, that is both private and public.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
- \n\tSarvajnanottara Agama Vidya and Yoga Pada <\/strong>– It is one of the\n\tprime Agamas and the key subjects tackled in this book (section of\n\tAgama) include, the Advaitic principles which explain how to connect\n\twith the divine. It talks about the \u201cdirect, blissful experience\n\tof absolute oneness with Shiva,\u201d and\n\tthe nature of the physical Self, inner Self, Self associated with\n\ttattvas (principles or truths), Self in the form of mantras (chants)\n\tand the nature of the Supreme Self.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
- \n\tRaurava Agama Vidya Pada <\/strong>– This book or section of Agama\n\ttackles subjects that include Siva\n\ttattvas, transmission of scriptures, metaphysical path, significance\n\tof various kinds of initiation, departure and absorption of the\n\tsoul, and different set of directions for: holding palms and fingers\n\tin different positions, performing the Nyasa of Shivakala\n\tMantras (placing of the Shivakala\n\tmantras), and Yoga practice of Dharana (single-pointed concentration\n\tand focus).\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
- \n\tPauskara Agama <\/strong>– With its roots firmly entrenched in\n\tphilosophy, this book or section of the Agama deals with the nature\n\tof Shiva, Maya (delusion), the Soul, or\n\tthe Soul that has been bound, Time or \u2018Kaala,\u2019 the nature of\n\tSubtle and Gross Elements, the revelation of the Agamas, etc.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
- \n\tMrgendra Agama Vidya Pada <\/strong>– It is one of the knowledge\n\tsections of the Agamas that deals with subjects, such as, \u2018An\n\tAnalysis of the Essential Nature of the Supreme Lord,\u2019 in chapter\n\tfive. Other areas that are observed are \u2013 On the Nature of Bonds,\n\tOn the Absolute Lordship of Lord Shiva,\n\tAn Inquiry into the Nature of Karmas, Descriptions of the Worlds\n\tExisting in Different Planes of \u2018Bhuvana Adhva,\u2019 and so on.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
- \n\tMatanga Agama Vidya Pada <\/strong>– This section of Agama expounds\n\tprofoundly on the Nature of Shiva and\n\tof liberation. It also covers, Ruminations on the Nature of Two\n\tTattvas- Laya and Bhoga, and the Nature of Sadashiva Tattva.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
- \n\tKirana Agama or Kiranagama Mahatantra<\/strong>– This book or section\n\tof Agamas contains several sub-sections on Charya (spiritual\n\tperformance or practice), Yoga (method of uniting with the divine),\n\tKriya (action) and \u201c…imparts the knowledge of pasu (individual\n\tsoul), pasa (maya or illusion), pati (Lord), jnana (knowledge), and\n\tvichara (self enquiry).\u201d\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
- \n\tKarana Agama (Grantha)<\/strong>– This is the Grantha version and was\n\tprepared by Mudaliar, probably in the early 19th<\/sup> century.\n\tThe book was written in the Grantha script and is yet to be\n\ttranslated from archaic Tamil into English.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
Bhagavan Paramahamsa Nithyananda aptly says, \u201cEnlightenment is your birthright.\u201d The Shivagamas are the stanchions of the Shaivite tradition and by strictly following any Agama, can lead one to enlightenment. <\/p>\n\n\n
To know more about the Shivagamas, follow our articles in further issues of this magazine!<\/p>\n\n\n
\nReferences:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n- \n\thttps:\/\/www.himalayanacademy.com\/site\/search\/title\/agama\/tags\/Agama<\/strong><\/a>\n\t<\/li>
- \n\tGrimes, John A. (1996). A\n\tConcise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in\n\tEnglish<\/em>. State University of New\n\tYork Press. Pgs 16-17\n<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Foray into the Agamas of Hinduism \u2018Agama\u2019 literally means, that which has been bequeathed or \u2018come down.\u2019 They are an assemblage of scriptures of a gamut of Hindu devotional schools, with three main branches: Shaivism (of Lord Shiva), Vaishnavism (of Lord Vishnu) and Shaktism (of Adi Shakti). The Agama literature is very copious and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[42,43,44],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}