Agama (Hinduism)

For other uses of "Agama", see Agama (disambiguation).
Part of a series on
Hindu scriptures and texts
Vedas

Divisions

Upanishads
Rig vedic

Sama vedic

Yajur vedic

Atharva vedic

Other scriptures
Related Hindu texts
Vedangas
Puranas
Brahma puranas

Vaishnava puranas

Shaiva puranas

Shakta puranas

Itihasa
Sangam literature
Shastras and sutras
Timeline

The Agamas (Devanagari: आगम, IAST: āgama) (Tamil: ஆகமம், romanized: ākamam) (Bengali: আগম, ISO15919: āgama) are a collection of several Tantric literature and scriptures of Hindu schools.[1][2] The term literally means tradition or "that which has come down", and the Agama texts describe cosmology, epistemology, philosophical doctrines, precepts on meditation and practices, four kinds of yoga, mantras, temple construction, deity worship and ways to attain sixfold desires.[1][3] These canonical texts are in Sanskrit[1] and Tamil.[4][5]

The three main branches of Agama texts are Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakta.[1] The Agamic traditions are sometimes called Tantrism,[6] although the term "Tantra" is usually used specifically to refer to Shakta Agamas.[7][8] The Agama literature is voluminous, and includes 28 Shaiva Agamas, 64 Shakta Agamas (also called Tantras), and 108 Vaishnava Agamas (also called Pancharatra Samhitas), and numerous Upa-Agamas.[9]

The origin and chronology of Agamas is unclear. Some are Vedic and others non-Vedic.[10] Agama traditions include Yoga and Self Realization[clarification needed] concepts, some include Kundalini Yoga,[11] asceticism, and philosophies ranging from Dvaita (dualism) to Advaita (monism).[12][13] Some suggest that these are post-Vedic texts, others as pre-Vedic compositions dating back to over 1100 BCE.[14][15][16] Epigraphical and archaeological evidence suggests that Agama texts were in existence by about middle of the 1st millennium CE, in the Pallava dynasty era.[17][18]

Scholars note that some passages in the Hindu Agama texts appear to repudiate the authority of the Vedas, while other passages assert that their precepts reveal the true spirit of the Vedas.[2][19][20] The Agamas literary genre may also be found in Śramaṇic traditions (i.e. Buddhist, Jains, etc).[21][22] Bali Hindu tradition is officially called Agama Hindu Dharma in Indonesia.[23]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Grimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Julius Lipner (2004), Hinduism: the way of the banyan, in The Hindu World (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0-415-21527-7, pages 27–28
  3. ^ Mariasusai Dhavamony (2002), Hindu-Christian Dialogue, Rodopi, ISBN 978-90-420-1510-4, pages 54–56
  4. ^ Indira Peterson (1992), Poems to Siva: The Hymns of the Tamil Saints, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-81-208-0784-6, pages 11–18
  5. ^ A Datta (1987), Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo, Sahitya Akademi, ISBN 978-0-8364-2283-2, page 95
  6. ^ Wojciech Maria Zalewski (2012), The Crucible of Religion: Culture, Civilization, and Affirmation of Life, Wipf and Stock Publishers, ISBN 978-1-61097-828-6, page 128
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Banerji was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Mariasusai Dhavamony (1999), Hindu Spirituality, Gregorian University and Biblical Press, ISBN 978-88-7652-818-7, pages 31–34 with footnotes
  9. ^ Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism: Third Edition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-7082-4, pages 49–50
  10. ^ PT Raju (2009), The Philosophical Traditions of India, Routledge, ISBN 978-81-208-0983-3, page 45; Quote: The word Agama means 'coming down', and the literature is that of traditions, which are mixtures of the Vedic with some non-Vedic ones, which were later assimilated to the Vedic.
  11. ^ Singh, L. P. (2010). Tantra, Its Mystic and Scientific Basis, Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-8069-640-4
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference jeanfil68 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference richdavis167 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Guy Beck (1993), Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound, University of South Carolina Press, ISBN 978-0-87249-855-6, pages 151–152
  15. ^ Tripath, S.M. (2001). Psycho-Religious Studies Of Man, Mind And Nature. Global Vision Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-87746-04-1
  16. ^ Drabu, V. N. (1990). Śaivāgamas: A Study in the Socio-economic Ideas and Institutions of Kashmir (200 B.C. to A.D. 700), Indus Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-85182-38-4. LCCN lc90905805
  17. ^ Richard Davis (2014), Worshiping Śiva in Medieval India: Ritual in an Oscillating Universe, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-60308-7, pages 12–13
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference schomerus8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ For examples of Vaishnavism Agama text verses praising Vedas and philosophy therein, see Sanjukta Gupta (2013), Lakṣmī Tantra: A Pāñcarātra Text, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-1735-7, pages xxiii-xxiv, 96, 158–159, 219, 340, 353 with footnotes, Quote: "In order not to dislocate the laws of dharma and to maintain the family, to govern the world without disturbance, to establish norms and to gratify me and Vishnu, the God of gods, the wise should not violate the Vedic laws even in thought – The Secret Method of Self-Surrender, Lakshmi Tantra, Pāñcarātra Agama".
  20. ^ For examples in Shaivism literature, see T Isaac Tambyah (1984), Psalms of a Saiva Saint, Asian Educational Services, ISBN 978-81-206-0025-6, pages xxii-xxvi
  21. ^ Helen Baroni (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism, Rosen Publishing, ISBN 978-0-8239-2240-6, page 3
  22. ^ Tigunait, Rajmani (1998), Śakti, the Power in Tantra: A Scholarly Approach, Himalayan Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-89389-154-1. LCCN 98070188
  23. ^ June McDaniel (2010), Agama Hindu Dharma Indonesia as a New Religious Movement: Hinduism Recreated in the Image of Islam, Nova Religio, Vol. 14, No. 1, pages 93–111