aagamA-s

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-- "T. R. Govindarajan" <tgovindarajan

wrote:

> AdiYen has a question on AgamAs. What are

> pAncharAtra Agama and VaikAsana AgamA?

> Are there only these two Agamas? If these are not

> AgamAs, then what is the> correct classification?

> Some temples follow one Versus the other, some

> follow both. Who wrote these> Agamas?

> What are in there? Are these available in book form

> in simple style so that> adiYen

> can understand it with little knowledge?

> dAsan

 

SrimAn Govindarajan,

There are many scholarly books on "Agama-sAstrA"

published by TTD. You can refer to them. You can also

access for quick and easy reference some posts by

scholarly members on the bhakti-archives.

 

Just to get you started adiyen is giving you below a

very brief account of the 2 agamA-s you want to know

about. Adiyen is a mere student in these matters like

yourself, so please double-check with authoritative

sources whatever I am relating below:

 

In very simple terms, agamA-sAstra is knowledge,

sciece or doctrine dealing with ritual, iconography,

construction of temples, 'yantra-s' and so on.

 

Agamas are said to be found in the 'samhita' portions

of the Vedas and they are generically called

'agama-samhita'.

 

What is the 'samhita' portion of the vedas?

 

In each of the 4 vedas, Rg. Yajur, Sama and Atharvana

there are different "pATA-s" or "pATa-bhEdA-s" or

"pATAntharA-s". This is something very roughly like

what in Carnatic Music is called "pANi-s" or in North

Indian classical music is called a particular

"gharAna". Just as there are more "sangatis" to a

particular "kriti" in one particular "pANi" (Ariyakudi

pANi or Chembai "pANi") than in the other, so also

there are more "suktA-s" in some "pATA-s" of one Veda

than in the other Veda. Also there are differences in

the order of mantrA-s in one "pATA" and the other.

 

Each of these "pATA-s" is called a rescencion or

"sAkhA"... thus we have Rg "sAkhA", "yajur-shAka" etc.

 

Each "sAkhA" now has 3 parts called "samhita",

"brAhmana" and "Aranyaka".

 

What we call "veda-adhyAyana" or the chanting or study

of Vedas in common parlance refers normally to the

"samhita" part only. The "samhita" is a systematised

collection of Vedic thought and insights couched in

various forms. The "samhita" is thus the very basis of

a particular Vedic "sAkhA" or rescencion.

 

The Vedic 'samhita' is a very vast collections of

suktA-s and mantrA-s and deals with many vaster

subjects.Ritual, iconography, forms of worship and

architecture etc.are only a fractional part of the

'samhitA-s". The "brAhmaNa" portion deals with the

rules of procedure for rituals and the interpretation

of mantrA in the samhita part. The Aranyaka deals

exclusively with metaphysical inquiry into the truths

described in mantrA and ritual form by the samhita and

the brAhmaNa.

 

So it is said that in each "samhita" one can find

"Agami-c" portions. There are thus many "AgamA-s"

variously dealing with the subjects of iconography,

the structure of worship and forms of rituals.

 

In the SriVaishnava tradition there are principally 2

'AgamA-s' which as you know are 'pAncharAtrA' and

'vaikhAnasa'.

 

Each of these 'agAmA-s' lays down very detailed

procedures for the design and construction of temples,

the way idols and icons should be fashioned, how

worship should be conducted in temples, what

'yantrA-s' (a kind of consecrated talisman) should be

placed where etc.

 

Now each 'AgamA' has its adherents claiming

superiority over the other but really if you study

them carefully their agreements are said to be so

numerous that their differences are so very

insignificant by comparison. In any case both

'AgamA-s' have been accorded equal recognition by

principal AchAryA-s like Ramanuja and Desikan.

 

Now one may ask, why we need to have these special

'agamA-s' to tell us how to build temples and idols?

After all modern architecture and metallurgy could

very well do the job for us. What is so sacred about

these "AgamA-s" that they are the only standards to

which our temples should measure up?

 

We will deal with such questions in the next post

(please pardon my "long-windedness" and bear patiently

with adiyen) Thanks.

 

dAsan,

Sampathkumaran

 

 

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[Guest guest]

sampath kumar writes:

> In very simple terms, agamA-sAstra is knowledge,

> sciece or doctrine dealing with ritual, iconography,

> construction of temples, 'yantra-s' and so on.

>

> Agamas are said to be found in the 'samhita' portions

> of the Vedas and they are generically called

> 'agama-samhita'.

 

Sri Sampath Kumar,

 

This is *completely wrong*, and I urge you to do your

research before propagating utterly incorrect information.

 

The "Agamas" are most definitely *not* part of the Vedas.

They are a completely separate body of texts. The Vedas

are generally known as "nigama", and these texts that

describe iconography, certain esoteric rituals, yoga,

etc., are known as "Agama".

 

According to traditional belief, while the Vedas are considered

eternal and unauthored (apaurusheya), the Agama texts are

considered authored by Lord Narayana Himself. As such, they

are not eternal and are of a totally different category

from the Vedas.

 

This is obvious from the first sloka of Sri Desika's

"Yatiraja Saptati":

 

kam apy Adyam vande kamalA-gRhamedhinam

pravaktA chandasAm vaktA pancarAtrasya ya: svayam

 

I first pay homage to the indescribable husband of Kamala (Lakshmi),

who is the propagator of the Vedas (chandas) and who

himself authored the Pancaratra Agama.

 

Desika cleanly makes a distinction between *propagation* of

an eternal text such as the Vedas, and *authorship* of the

Agamas.

 

Your confusion lies in the fact that the first "mantra" section

of the Vedas is known as "samhita". Therefore, we have Rg Veda

samhita, Yajur Veda samhita, Sama Veda samhita, etc., with their

various branches (Taittiriya Samhita, Vajasaneya Samhita, etc.)

All these are *collections* (samhita) of Vedic mantras, and

are yet considered eternal and of absolute authority and

significance.

 

The Vaishnava Agamas are also known as "samhita". We therefore

have "Sri Sattvata Samhita", "Jayakhya Samhita", "Ahirbudhnya

Samhita", etc. But these texts are in no way part of the Vedic

corpus.

 

In the Saiva and Sakta traditions, for example, the Agamas bear

the title "Agama" or "Tantra" in their name. Yet these are also

considered authored texts, and are not part of the eternal Veda.

 

As far as the various Vaishnava Agama texts are concerned, other

members have already pointed out articles by Sri Krishnamachari

which detail their contents.

 

adiyen ramanuja dasan,

Mani