The Hindu Scriptures..........Part V
Theological Discipline & Doctrines of worship (Agamas)


The fifth set of scriptures The Agamas,lays down the separate theological disciplines and doctrines for the worship of deities. From the Agamas have sprouted the three main sects amongst Hindus i.e the Shaiva,Vaishnava and Shakta.The Shaiva agama has led the school of philosophy called 'Shiva siddhantha' in the south and pratahyabhijna system of shivaism of Kashmir. In this Agama the supreme God is worshipped and adored under different names and forms of Shiva.

Similarly there are two main aspects in the Vaishnava Agama, the 'pancharatra' and 'vaikhanasa' both glorifies God Vishnu, and of these two, the former is more popular and it is believed , this Agama was revealed by the great God himself in the form of Vishnu.

The Shakta Agama glorifies Devi, the consort of Shiva as the World Mother as Shakthi,is the energy giving power behind all creation, creativity and destruction.

The Tantric cult owes its origin to the Tantra and not to the vedas, but in the later period of Hindu history, Tantric started to claim allegiance to the Shaktha Agama. Many occult and magical practices trace their origin to Tantric worship, however the Tantric cult was never fully accepted by Hinduism nor by the Hindu philosophers.

The Agamas guide the faithful who are moved by their devotion to the supreme God to worship one of his Manifestations.Each Agama has several sections. The first part consists of philosophy and spiritual knowledge of the worship of the deity. The second part consis of the yoga and the mental discipline required for each school of worship.

An important part of the third section of each Agama covers the rules governing the construction of Temples. That is why, whatever the style of outward architecture, the plan of the temples is the same in whatever the part of the country a Temple is located. Some are elaborate than others, with addition of Mandapas/Halls ,but the basic plan is same , as laid down in eacgh Agama for accommodating the rituals in that form of worship.

Equally important in the third section are the rules for sculpting or carving figures of deities and divinities. Even details such as the way Rama hold his bow, the length of his arm, the grateful stance of Seetha are written down so that,in which ever part of this vast comurty a Temple is built, these rules are followed . The only differences are in the facial features of the images which are usually patterned on the racial characteristic of the locals.

The fourth part of the Agama consists of the rules pertaining to the observations of the religious rites and rituals at home and in the community, and the observance of religious festivels. These are mentioned in greater details , which explains their being observed from one end of the country to the other with only local cultural variations.

The most beautiful aspect of the agamas is the tremendous amount of poetic compositions and devotional songs that have sprung up under the shade of these theological scriptures in all the languages of the country. They have in fact added greatly to the richness of the poetry and lieraery genius of our great country.