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Agama (Sanskrit आगम; also Pali āgama) means "a traditional doctrine, or system which commands faith". Literature regarded as central to the Hindu literary tradition was predominantly composed in Sanskrit, Indeed much of the morphology and linguistic "Veda" redirects here For other uses see Veda (disambiguation. The Rigveda ( Sanskrit sa ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise verse" and veda "knowledge" The Yajurveda ( Sanskrit यजुर्वेदः, a Tatpurusha compound of yajus "sacrificial formula' + veda The Samaveda ( Sanskrit: सामवेद sāmaveda, from sāman "melody" + veda "knowledge") is third (in the usual The Atharvaveda ( Sanskrit: अथर्ववेद atharvaveda, a Tatpurusha compound of {{IAST|atharvan}}, an ancient Rishi The oral tradition of the Vedas ( Śrauta) consists of several pathas, "recitations" or ways of chanting the Vedic Mantras Such traditions The Brāhmaṇa s ( Devanagari: sa ब्राह्मणं are part of the Hindu śruti literature The Aranyakas (Sanskrit आरण्यक āraṇyaka) are part of the Hindu śruti, the four Vedas these religious texts were composed in The Upanishads ( Devanagari: उपनिषद् IAST: upaniṣad also spelled "Upanisad" are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings The Upanishads ( Devanagari: उपनिषद् IAST: upaniṣad also spelled "Upanisad" are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings The Aitareya Upanishad is one of the older "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad ( Sanskrit: बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् is one of the older "primary" ( Mukhya The Isha Upanishad ( īśa upaniṣad, otherwise Ishopanishad īśopaniṣad or īśāvāsya upaniṣad) is one of the shortest of the Upanishads The Taittiriya Upanishad is one of the older " primary " Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the "primary" ( Mukhya) Upanishads Together with the Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana and the Brihadaranyaka The Kena Upanishad (kenopaniṣad is one of the older "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Muṇḍaka Upanishad is one of the older "primary" ( Mukhya) Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. Māndūkya Upanishad is the shortest Upanishads - the scriptures of Hindu Vedanta. The Kaṭha Upanishad is one of the older Mukhya "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. Prashna Upanishad ( IAST praṣnopaniṣad is one of the older "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad (Sanskrit Śvetāśvatara) (400 - 200 BCE is one of the older "primary" Upanishads It is associated with the Black The Vedanga ( vedāṅga, "member of the Veda" are six auxiliary disciplines for the understanding and tradition of the Vedas. See Shiksha (NGO for the Indian non-governmental organization The main principle of Vedic meter is measurement by the number of syllables The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of vyākaraṇa is one of the six Vedanga disciplines Nirukta ("explanation etymological interpretation" is one of the six {{IAST|Vedānga}} disciplines of Hinduism, treating Etymology, particularly Jyotiṣa ( Sanskrit jyotiṣa, from jyótis- "light heavenly body" also spelled Jyotish and Jyotisha in English Kalpa is one of the six disciplines of Vedanga, treating Ritual. Indian epic poetry is the Epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent. The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki The following is a bibliography of Hindu scriptures and texts. Smriti (Sanskrit स्मृति " that which is remembered " refers to a specific body of Hindu religious Scripture If you are looking for the singer see Shruti Haasan. For other meanings see Śruti (disambiguation. For other meanings see Purana (disambiguation. The Puranas ( Sanskrit: sa पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times" Darśana ( Darshan, दर्शन is a Sanskrit term meaning "sight" (in the sense of an instance of seeing or beholding from a root Pāñcarātra are Vaishnavite devotional texts dedicated to a single deity Sriman Narayana who manifests in different forms Tantras (" Looms " or " Weavings " refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions In Hinduism a Stotra is a hymn of praise These hymns praise aspects of the divine such as Devi, Siva, or Vishnu. Dharmaśāstra is a genre of Sanskrit texts and refers to the śāstra, or Indic branch of learning pertaining to Hindu Dharma, religious The Nalayira Divya Prabandha (or Nalayira Divya Prabhandham) is a collection of 4000 verses (Naalayira in Tamil means 'four thousand' composed before 8th century The Tevaram ( Tamil: தேவாரம் Teva means "God" aram means "garland") denotes the first seven volumes of the Śrī Rāmacaritamānas ( Devanāgarī: hi श्री राम चरित मानस ( Hindi / Avadhi) is an Epic poem composed by the The Shikshapatri ( Devanagari: शिक्षापत्री is a text of two hundred and twelve verses written in Sanskrit by Bhagwan Swaminarayan The Vachanamrut of Bhagwan Swaminarayan is the most sacred and foundational scripture of the Swaminarayan faith. Ananda Sutram is the basic scripture of modern Yoga composed in Sanskrit by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti (1921-1990 in the year 1961 Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical [1] Agama refers to sets of scriptures in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism that evolved from the Upanishads. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. The Upanishads ( Devanagari: उपनिषद् IAST: upaniṣad also spelled "Upanisad" are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings
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Hinduism
In Hinduism, the Agamas are an enormous collection of Sanskrit scriptures which, are revered. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical The Agamas are the primary source and authority for yoga methods and instruction. Yoga ( Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, joːgə refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, to the The Shaiva Agamas revere the Ultimate Reality as Lord Shiva (Shaivism). Tantras (" Looms " or " Weavings " refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions Shaivism, also spelled "Saivism" names the oldest of the four sects of Hinduism. The Vaishnava-Agamas (Pancharatra and Vaikhanasas Samhitas) adore the Ultimate Reality as Vishnu (Vaishnavism). Pāñcarātra are Vaishnavite devotional texts dedicated to a single deity Sriman Narayana who manifests in different forms Vaikhanasam is one of the principal traditions of Hinduism and primarily worships Vishnu (and his associated Avatars as the Supreme God. Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars principally as Rama and The Shakta-Agamas (Tantras) venerate the Ultimate Reality as Shakti the consort of Shiva and Divine Mother of the universe (Shaktism). Tantras (" Looms " or " Weavings " refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions Shaktism ( Sanskrit: Śāktaṃ sa शाक्तं lit "doctrine of power" or "doctrine of the Goddess") is a denomination of Each set of texts expands on the central theological and philosophical teachings of that denomination.
The two main schools in the Vaishnava Agama are Pancharatra and Vaikanasa Agama. The Saiva Agama has led to the Saiva Siddhanta philosophy in South India and to the Pratyabhijna system of Kashmir Saivism. Smartas recognize the Agamas, but don't necessarily adhere to them, relying mainly on the smriti texts. Smartism (or Smarta Sampradaya, Smarta Tradition, as termed in Sanskrit) is a denomination of the Hindu Smriti (Sanskrit स्मृति " that which is remembered " refers to a specific body of Hindu religious Scripture In the Malay languages the word Agama literally means religion. The Malay language ( ISO 639-1 code MS is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people and people of other ethnic groups who reside in the The Agamas are also sometimes known as Tantras.
Agamas deal with the philosophy and spiritual knowledge behind the worship of the deity, the yoga and mental discipline required for this worship, and the specifics of worship offered to the deity. Hindu philosophy is divided into six Sanskrit ''{{IAST|āstika}}'') schools of thought or darshanas (literally "views" Sankhya Within Hinduism a large number of personalities or 'forms' are worshiped as Murtis. Each Agama consists of four parts. The first part includes the philosophical and spiritual knowledge. The second part covers the yoga and the mental discipline. The third part specifies rules for the construction of temples and for sculpting and carving the figures of deities for worship in the temples. The fourth part of the Agamas includes rules pertaining to the observances of religious rites, rituals, and festivals.
Elaborate rules are laid out in the Agamas for Silpa (the art of sculpture) describing the quality requirements of the places where temples are to be built, the kind of images to be installed, the materials from which they are to be made, their dimensions, proportions, air circulation, lighting in the temple complex etc. The Manasara and Silpasara are some of the works dealing with these rules. The rituals followed in worship services each day at the temple also follow rules laid out in the Agamas.
The Agamas state three essential requirements for a place of pilgrimage - Sthala, Teertham and Murthy. In Religion and Spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or Search of great Moral significance Sthala refers to the temple, Teertham, to the temple tank and Murthy to the deity(ies) worshipped. A temple may also be associated with a tree, called the Sthala Vriksham. For instance, the Kadamba tree at the Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple is the Sthala Vriksham. A lone banyan tree that adorns the spacious courtyard of the Ratnasabha at Tiruvalankadu is the Sthala Vriksham. The entire area is believed to have been a forest of banyan trees once.
Buddhism
 Early Buddhism |
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In Buddhism, the term 'agama' is used to refer to a class of sutras of the early Buddhist schools, which were preserved in the Chinese Mahayana tradition. The term Early Buddhism can refer to Pre-sectarian Buddhism, which refers to the Teachings and monastic organization and structure founded by Gautama The Gandhāran Buddhist Texts are the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered dating from about the first century CE and also the oldest Indian manuscripts yet discovered According to late commentarial accounts King Ajatashatru (Sanskrit अजातशत्रु sponsored the First Buddhist council. The Second Buddhist council took place in Vesali, about one hundred years after the Buddha 's Parinibbāna, in order to settle a serious dispute on The Third Buddhist council was convened in about 250 BCE at Asokarama in Patiliputta, supposedly under the patronage of Emperor Asoka. Two councils frequently called Fourth Buddhist Council were held The Early Buddhist schools are those schools into which according to most scholars the Buddhist monastic Sangha initially split due originally to differences in The term pre-sectarian Buddhism is used by some scholars to refer to the Buddhism that existed before the various subsects of Buddhism came into being The Mahāsāṃghika ( Devanagari महासांघिक also transliterated "Mahasanghika" and "Mahasamghika" (lit Sthaviravāda ( Sanskrit; Chinese 上座部 literally means "Teaching Of The Elders" Sarvastivada is an early school of Buddhism that held to 'the existence of all Dharmas in the past present and future the 'three times' Vibhajjavāda is an umbrella classification for Buddhist denominations that promote analysis as a primary tool for developing 'insight' (Sanskrit Prajñā History Origin of the school The Theravāda school is ultimately derived from the Vibhajjavāda (or 'doctrine of analysis' grouping which was a continuation The Dharmaguptaka are one of the eighteen or twenty schools of Early Buddhism, depending on one's source Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices The Early Buddhist schools are those schools into which according to most scholars the Buddhist monastic Sangha initially split due originally to differences in Mahayana ( Sanskrit: mahāyāna, Devanagari: महायान 'Great Vehicle' is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for Many of the agama sutras belong to the Sarvastivadin canon. These sutras correspond to the first four Nikayas of the Sutta-Pitaka of the Pali Canon, which are also occasionally called agamas. The Sutta Pitaka (suttapiṭaka or Suttanta Pitaka cf Sanskrit सूत्र पिटक Sutra Pitaka) is the second of the three divisions of the Tipitaka or In this sense, 'agama' is a synonym for one of the meanings of nikaya. Nikāya is a word of meaning 'collection' 'assemblage' 'class' or 'group' in both Pali and Sanskrit. Sometimes the word agama is used to refer not to a specific scripture, but to a class of scripture. In this case, its meaning can also encompass the Sutta-pitaka, the oldest and most historically accurate representation of the teachings of Gautama Buddha. Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder
Four collections of agamas appear in the East Asian Mahayana Canon: the Cháng Ahánjīng (長阿含經), the Zhōng Ahánjīng (中阿含經), the Zá Ahánjīng (雜阿含經), and the Ekottara Agama or Zēngyī Ahánjīng (增一阿含經). The Chinese Buddhist Canon ( Chinese character: 大藏經 Cantonese: Dai Zorng Ging Mandarin: Dà Zàng Jīng Korean: Dae Jang Kyung Japanese The Ekottara Agama is an old Indian buddhist text of which currently only a Chinese translation is extant [2] These correspond to the Digha Nikaya, the Majjhima Nikaya, the Samyutta Nikaya, and the Anguttara Nikaya of the Pali Canon, respectively. The Digha Nikaya (dīghanikāya "Collection of Long Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the first of the five Nikayas or collections The Majjhima Nikaya (-nikāya "Collection of Middle-length Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the second of the five Nikayas or collections in the The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings" is a Buddhist scripture the third of the five Nikayas The Anguttara Nikaya (aṅguttaranikāya "Gradual Collection" or "Numerical Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the fourth of the five Nikayas or
The agamas were translated from their original languages to Chinese. This version is currently available in the Chinese Buddhist Canon. The Chinese Buddhist Canon ( Chinese character: 大藏經 Cantonese: Dai Zorng Ging Mandarin: Dà Zàng Jīng Korean: Dae Jang Kyung Japanese
According to the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004):[3]
"According to tradition, the Buddha's discourses were already collected by the time of the first council, held shortly after the Buddha's death . . . Scholars, however, see the texts as continually growing in number and size from an unknown nucleus, thereby undergoing various changes in language and content . . . "
The agamas are commonly compared to the Suttapitaka. Their existence and similarity is sometimes used by scholars to validate the teachings composed in them as a historically authentic representation of the Canon of the First Buddhist Council. According to late commentarial accounts King Ajatashatru (Sanskrit अजातशत्रु sponsored the First Buddhist council. Sometimes also the differences between them are used to cast an alternative meaning on the accepted meaning of a sutta in either of the two recensions.
The Agamas contain the following scriptures in Chinese translation:
- Madhyama Agama (corresponding to Majjhima Nikaya) and Samyukta Agama (corresponding to Samyutta Nikaya), probably of the Sarvastivāda. The Majjhima Nikaya (-nikāya "Collection of Middle-length Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the second of the five Nikayas or collections in the The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings" is a Buddhist scripture the third of the five Nikayas Sarvastivada is an early school of Buddhism that held to 'the existence of all Dharmas in the past present and future the 'three times'
- Dirgha Agama (corresponding to Digha Nikaya), probably of the Dharmaguptaka. The Digha Nikaya (dīghanikāya "Collection of Long Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the first of the five Nikayas or collections The Dharmaguptaka are one of the eighteen or twenty schools of Early Buddhism, depending on one's source
- Ekottara Agama (corresponding to Anguttara Nikaya) probably of the Mahāsaṅghika. The Ekottara Agama is an old Indian buddhist text of which currently only a Chinese translation is extant The Anguttara Nikaya (aṅguttaranikāya "Gradual Collection" or "Numerical Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the fourth of the five Nikayas or The Mahāsāṃghika ( Devanagari महासांघिक also transliterated "Mahasanghika" and "Mahasamghika" (lit
internet link: The Āgama Sūtra Translation Project
Jainism
Jains have their own scriptures, called Ägams or Jain Shrut.
See also
Notes
- ^ Siva sutras: The Yoga of Supreme Identity By Vasugupta, Jaideva Singh. The Early Buddhist schools are those schools into which according to most scholars the Buddhist monastic Sangha initially split due originally to differences in [1]
- ^ Muller, Charles. Digital Dictionary of Buddhism, entry on 阿含經
- ^ (Volume One) page 10
References
- The Jain Ägams” by Shri Dalsukh Malvania & Translated by Dr. Nagin Shah
- Jain Ägam Literature” compiled by Pravin K. Shah, Jain Study Center of NC (Raleigh)
- [Sivaya Subramuniyaswami] [1979] (11 2003). "Glossary", Dancing with Shiva, Hinduism's Contemporary Catechism, Sixth Edition, Kapaa, HI: Himalayan Academy, 755. ISBN 0-945497-96-2. Retrieved on 2006-04-04. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I.
- The Agama Encyclopaedia/ S. K. Ramachandra Rao, Second revised and enlarged edition. Delhi, Sri Satguru Publications, 2005, 12 Vols. , lxxxiv, 1943 p, ISBN 81-7030-823-2.
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