chap15 chapter_14.html chapter_15.html chapter_16.html Tamil Nadu, The Land of the Vedas R. Nagaswamy 15. ĀGAMAS
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The word Āgama originally stood for the Vedas but later was extended to temple worship. It therefore clearly is an extension of Vedic discipline and rituals. The Vedic poetry recited to create imagery in mind is called mantra (of the man-mind) but the same created through physical suggestion (tanū of body) is Tantra. The divine which cannot be seen with eyes is created through Mind (mantra) and (tantra). So much so, that great saints like Appar define God as one who manifests through mantra and tantra (mantiramum tantiramum anāṉ kaṇṭāy). The Āgamas give these two approaches together. So, the treatises dealing with the temple are called Āgama or Tantra.

15.1. Śaiva Āgamas

 The treatises dealing with worship in Śiva temples are called a Śivāgama or Śaiva tantras. There are 28 major Śivāgamas and 108 minor Śivāgamas, but all of them are not available. Of the major Śivāgamas, which are generally listed beginning with Kāmikāgama, and though the names of all 28 are known, only a few are available in prints now. They include Kāmikā, Kāraṇā, Aeintya, Raurava, Ajita, Makuta and others are available. They are generally divided into four parts as Caryapāda, Kriyāpāda, Yogapāda and Jñānapāda. Caryā means purification and personal worship of the priests, derived from the word Ācāra or observances. Kriya deals with worship of idols. Yoga in Śaiva system includes the eight-fold Aṣṭhāṅga yoga of Patañjali or different stages of yoga called Śiva yoga. Jñāna deals with the ultimate philosophy of the system. The Śaiva system has several subsects among them ranging from four main branches to as many as 32 sub-sects. According to one tradition, there are six major sub-schools called Śaivam (Siddhānta Saivam), Pāsupatam, Vāmam, Mahāvratam, Kālāmukham, and Bhairavam. These are called six inner systems of Śaivam, each having its own Āgamas. Each emphasizes one manifestation of Śiva as Supreme. One school holds Chandraśekhara form. In another, it may be Somāskanda form and yet another it may be Naṭarāja or Bhairava. For example, the main deity of the Makuṭāgama followers is Naṭarāja. As early as 6th century, Appar sings that Śaivas, Pāsupatas, Mahāvratis, Kāpālika, Kālāmukhas and Antaṇar were prevalent in Tamiḻnāḍu. Though these were subsects, all of them accepted the authority of the Veda with the difference that the Śaivas ascribed equal authority to the Vedas and Āgamas. We may say here that chronologically the Vedic lore was the earliest and their allusions in Vedic lore got expanded into the 18 Mahapurāṇās, all known in Tamiḻnaḍu as we find Sambandar refers to the number 18 representing the Puraṇas. We may say here that what the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata did to popularize Rāma, and Kṛṣṇa, the Purāṇas did for Śiva and Devi. But this should not be considered as compartmentalized for the exploits of Śiva and Devi as seen in Purāṇas. This synthesis could be dated earlier than the 6th century BCE for Bodhāyana, one of the earliest Sūtrakāra refers to them in his gṛhya-sūtra. The daily rituals of the dvijas prescribe the adoration of this deification. Similarly, the ritual part of idol worship cannot be fixed to any one century. As they are the extension of the Vedas, they may be traced to the Vedic period. There is enough proof in the earliest Buddhist literature, for temple ritual and images so much so we have to place the origin of Śaiva and also the Vaiṣṇava Āgamas to the pre-Buddhist age. In the worship of Śaiva (and the Vaiṣṇava system), there was a tendency to divide image worship into saumya and ghorā forms. The latter was restored by kings or men in deep distress, praying for terrible disasters for their enemies. Historically, there is evidence to show that there were a good number of Vedic Scholars who were great Śaivācāryas. They came from Gaudadeśa (Bengal), Lātadeśa (upper Bihar), Āryadeśa (Uttar Pradesh), and Madhyadeśa (Madya Pradesh) to Tamiḻnāḍu from the 10th to the 13th century. Most of them served as Rājagurus of the Cōḻa emperors. They were responsible for some of the great temples of Tamiḻnāḍu like Tañjāvūr, Gaṅgai-koṇḍa-chōḻapuram, Tribhuvanam, and so on. Rājēndra Cōḻa I brought a good number of Śaiva Ācāryas from Antarvedi (Gaṅgā Yamunā Doab) or the Godaviri region. One of the inscriptions in the great temple of Tañjāvūr says that Śaiva Ācāryas from Āryadeśa, Gaudadeśa, and Madyadeśa alone should serve as Śaiva Ācārya. In the great temple of Gaṅgai-koṇḍa-chōḻapuram, Rājēndra praises his guru, Śaiva Ācārya Sarva Śiva Paṇḍita from Gaudadeśa, as the very embodiment of Śiva on Earth, and he was ever engaged in adoring his feet. These Śaiva Ācāryas were great Vedic scholars who interpreted the Vedas and Upaniṣads as expounding the supremacy of Śiva. One Śrikaṇṭha Sambhu from Gaudadeśa wrote a commentary on the Brahma-sūtra of Veda Vyāsa. It is valued as highly as those of Śaṅkara and Rāmānuja. In his commentary, Śrikaṇṭha Sambhu establishes that the Brahma-sūtra extols the final entity as Śiva. Śrikaṇṭha’s son, Iśvara Śiva, consecrated the great Cōḻa temple at Tribhuvanam near Tiruvidaimarudūr. He is described as a great scholar of Vedantic doctrine. There are many other smaller ones among the Cōḻa temples in the Tañjāvūr district that were the contributions of these Gauda Śiva Ācāryas. But mention must be made of the Gauda Śiva Ācārya of the Śiva temple at Dārāsuram near Kumbakōṇam and such Ācāryas at Chidambaram. We have seen that the Āgamas deal with the building of temples, the qualification of Ācaryas, the form and iconography of images, daily and periodical pūjās, festivals, repairs, consecration, and expiations. They are bulky texts, which resulted in the need for abridged versions. We have such abridged editions of the Āgamas, which were called Paddhatis, dating from the 8th century onward. The Iśāna-gurudeva-paddhati and the Aghora-sambhu-paddhati are examples of such popular texts. It is seen from the Āgamas that, besides the general requirements, a Śivācārya should know writings, Astronomy, and Vāstu Vidyā, etc. As the Śivācārya acted as trustees for several hundred temples, they were also expected to know the Dharma Śāstras as well. They must not only know the Vedas, Vedāṅgas, and Āgamas, but also agni kārya and be adept at karṣanādi pratiṣtāntam (ploughing and installation). More importantly, they must be practicing Śaivites and have faith in Śaiva-darśanam. The Sarva-jñanottara-āgama states that Śaivācāryas from the region between the Vindhyas and Kanyākumari are eminently suited to be Ācāryas as they are honest and trustworthy. We conclude this by an important mention in the Aghora-sambhu-paddhati, that one Vidyānta Śiva from the Cōḻa country was invited by the king of Vāranāsi and appointed him as his Rājaguru. This happened before the times of Rājarāja, indicating that the migration had been both ways.

15.2. Vaikhānasa School

 The Vaiṣṇavas of Tamiḻnāḍu are divided into two broad divisions: Vaikhānasas and Pāñcarātrins. The Vaikhānasa school was the most dominant school up to the 11th century and is found in many inscriptions. Only in the eleventh century is the Pāñcarātra school mentioned in the inscriptions. This is mainly due to the predominance of Vedic scholars in Tamiḻnāḍu, about which we shall see in the sequence. Vikhānas was a sage mentioned in the Ṛgveda as “vikhanā muni am”. The Ṛgveda also says “pavasvantam vaikhānasam lavas ate”. The Yajurveda says “vaikhānasam pūrva iha sāma bhavati” (7.1.4 अनुवाक 4 आङ्गिरसद्विरात्राहीनविधिकथनम् - वैखानसम् पूर्वे ऽहन्त् साम भवति). He is also mentioned in the Sāmaveda and the Mahābhārata of Veda Vyāsa. There were eight individuals mentioned as the disciples of Sage Vikhānas. They are Kāśyapa, Atri, Marīchi, Vasiṣṭha, Āṅgīrasah, Pulastyah, Pulaha, and Kratuh. Vikhānas is also included as a follower, making a total of nine. According to tradition, Brahmā himself was called Vikhanā. They were the followers of Sruti and Smṛtis, that is, the Vedas and Dharma Sāstras. Bodhāyana, in his dharma-sūtra, refers to Vānaprasthā following the Vaikhānasa-sūtra. He states that the Vaikhānasa-sūtra was called “Śrāmanakam tena agnim ādadhita vānaprasthah”. This means that those Vaidikas who wish to embrace the third stage of life, Vānaprastha, by leaving town and village life once and for all to go to the forest, must carry the sacrificial fire with them. This is an important injunction for any follower of the Vānaprastha Āsramī. The Vaikhānasa-sūtra is cited as an authority by great Sūtrakāras like Āpastamba, Gautama, Yama, Manu, Sankhalikhita, Hārīta, Vasiṣta, and others. Therefore, it is evident that the Vaikhānasa-sūtra is one of the oldest to survive. Some of the sages, like Atri, Kācyapa, Gautamaṉ, and others, were poets mentioned in Saṅgam literature. Evidently, this text predates the Saṅgam period as it is mentioned in the works of Bodhāyana, Āpastamba, Gautama, and others. It should be assigned to 600 BCE or earlier. According to ancient tradition, the sage Vikhānas composed this Sūtra by following the Yajus Sākhā branch of the Vedas, incorporating the Śrauta-smārta tradition, and also relating to the Vānaprasta Āśrama. Another tradition states that Viṣṇu himself taught Vikhānas, and that he created this school by compiling the mantras referring to Viṣṇu in the Vedas and teaching them with the aṅgas of the Vedas. These mūla-vaiṣṇava-mantras are to be recited in rites and codified in the order of japa, homa, arccana, and dhyāna. Evidently, the temple worship of this school was based mainly on the Vedas, signaling a development of the Vedic nature of temple worship. Therefore, it is natural that this school reflects many concepts found in Vedānta doctrines. The most ancient school among the Vaikhānasa is the Marīci school called Marīci-samhitā also called Vimānārccana Kalpa. There are three other texts of this school namely Bhṛgu, Atri, and Kācyapa, all emphasizing the Vedic nature of worship.

15.3. Marīci Samhitā

 According to Marīci, one should worship Paramātmā, the Supreme Self, as described in the Śruti, using the mantras from the four Vedas, and thereby attain the supreme abode of Viṣṇu as prescribed in the Śruti. The text cites the Vedic hymn which states that Viṣṇu is the foremost, as “Viṣṇu is an embodiment of all deities, Agnih-avamah, the fire is the last deity among them and in between are all other deities”. In holding Viṣṇu as Supreme, this text cites the Puruṣa-sūkta passage “all these are that Puruṣa”, (Ṛgveda 8-4-17) sa Brahmā sa Śivah (Nārāyaṇa-sūktam, Taitt Aran 8-26). This Param Brahma is Param Jyotihi, a Supreme effulgent luminary. Evidently, it is this Puruṣa-sūkta and Nārāyaṇa-sūkta that denote Vaiṣṇava worship is based on Sūrya worship. Marīci refers to this as Vimāna Arccana. The text also mentions two kinds of worship, with and without forms. Formless worship is offered in Fire, while worship of form is “idol worship”. The latter is considered superior because the worship will continue even after the demise of the patron. The Supreme must be visualized in the heart of the individual, which is like a lotus. In the middle of this lotus remains the flame that should be seen in meditation. This concept is encapsulated in the phrase “hṛdaye agni sikhā paramātmānam, vyavastitam, dhyānena pasyet”. The worship of images is referred to as kriyā-mārga. The Marīchi-samhitā consists of 100 chapters or kāṇḍa. It deals with the qualifications of Ācāryas, the layout of villages, the distribution of temples in the village, types of Viṣṇu temples, the deities to be installed at different levels, their iconography, their daily worship, periodical worships, special worships, festivals, the timing of festivals, expiatory rites, dos and don’ts, safeguards in times of danger, etc. Towards the end, it provides some aspects of the philosophy of the school. It prescribes that worship should be conducted through aṣṭhāṅga yoga (of Patañjali) and emphasizes the jñāna-mārga. Evidently, it combines both the jñāna-mārga and karma-mārga, as seen in the Vedic karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa. It speaks of the installation of nine mūrtis of Viṣṇu, or eight forms, six forms, or five forms, surrounded by circles of deities. It mentions the supreme form, the Vyūhas forms, the ten avatars like Kṛṣṇa, Rāma and others. Then follows elaborate circles of secondary deities all being Vedic Devatās, some of which including Rākā, Kuhū, Anūmati, Sinivāli may not be intelligible to modern Vaiṣṇavas. This being a Vedic school, an emphasis is also laid on homa. This is a comprehensive treatise and it will not be possible to cover all aspects in this Section. Beyond any doubt, this school has played a vital role in Tamiḻnāḍu.

15.4. Śri Pārameśvara Samhitā

 The famous Viṣṇu temple of Tamiḻnāḍu, located at Śrīraṅgam, follows the Āgama, Pārameśvara-samhitā, in all aspects of worship, festivals, and structures. The text was published by Śri Govindācārya in 1953 at Śrīraṅgam. Govindācārya is mentioned as the teacher of Pāñcarātra at the school of Siṅgamaiyaṅgār, at Śrīraṅgam. This is a remarkable publication of love and veneration. Besides the text, the Āchārya has provided nearly 20 drawings of the temple layout, the kalasa to be established in the yāgaśālā, and various consecratory rituals that elucidate subtle philosophy, among other things. This publication is not only of great help to those performing the rituals but also enables lay scholars to visualize the totality of the temple's meaning. Scholars should be ever thankful to this great Ācārya for publishing this voluminous text. There is an excellent introduction to Pañcarātra Āgama in English at the beginning. As stated in the introduction, this text was originally in two parts: the jñāna-pāda (a section on Knowledge) and the kriyā-pāda (a section on rituals). It is also mentioned that the first part, the jñāna-pāda, is lost, and only the kriya-pāda has survived. The present text, the Pārameśvara-samhitā, is from the kriyāpāda. However, it appears that some portions have been lost at the end. The text comprises 26 chapters, beginning with the origin of this śāstra. However, the text abruptly ends with the fire sacrifice for the sudarsana yantra. It is evident that some parts have been lost. Importantly, before presenting the chapter headings and their brief contents, the author provides a complete iconography of the temple. This includes the distribution of deities on the Vimāna (Vimāna Devatās), deities at the entrances, and in different circles, starting from the base at the bottom.
  • Anantan
  • Chakras
  • Sāmarthya Śakti
  • Lakṣmi with Śankha-nidhi and Padma-nidhi
  • Kaustubha with lords of the two nidhi,
  • Overall, these comes as the embodiment of Śaktis.
 This followed by 18 Śaktis.
  • Outside this eight Śaktis are distributed on 8 slabs.
  • The akṣaras from Akārā to Kṣakāra on eight slabs
  • Then on the pāda of adhiṣṭhāna see the following circle of deities.
  • Dharma, Adharma
  • Jñānam, Ajñānam
  • Vairāgyam, Avairāgyam
  • Aiśvaryam, Anaiśvaryam
  • Ṛgvedā
  • Yajurveda
  • Sāmaveda
  • Atharvaṇaveda
  • Kritā Yuga
  • Tretā Yuga
  • Dvāpara Yuga
  • Kali Yuga
 On the corner petals of the ādhāra-padma.
  • Vāsudeva
  • Samkarṣana
  • Pradyumna
  • Aniruddha
 In the inner petals of the ādhāra-padma.
  • Varāha
  • Ādinātha Viṣṇu
  • Narasiṁha
  • Nārāyaṇa
 The lotus of the caranam front:
  • Vāsudeva
  • Samkarṣana
  • Pradhyumnan
  • Aniruddhan
The folliwing are the deities on the yoga piṭha:
  1. Cakras
  2. Padmam
  3. Vimala and other Śakti in the centre
  4. Ananta (snake)
  5. Vihaga Garuda
  6. Amboja
  7. The hang has two Kāla
  8. Vāyuh
  9. Niyantā
  10. Śāstram
  11. Vidyādhipatayah
  12. Śivan
  13. Prajāpatayah
  14. Indrah
  15. Sapta Riṣyah
  16. Navagrahāh
Thus, it draws mainly from the Vedas. Whether it's Vaikānasa or Pāñcarātra, they are both rooted in the Vedas.
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