Agama -Nigama

It is said; Agama is distinct from Nigama, just as Tantra is distinct from Veda. Agama is closely
linked to Tantra; while Nigama is synonym for Veda. If Veda is taken to mean knowledge,
Nigama is that by which one learns, one knows (nigamyate jnayate anena iti nigamah: Sabda –
kalpa -druma). Therefore, Nigama, since Panini (6.3.1.13), has come to mean Vedas. And, even
during the later times the two terms were used interchangeably. For instance; Sri Vedantadeshika
is also addressed, at times, as Nigamantadeshika.

Agama, generally, stands for Tantra. The Agama-Tantra tradition is as important and as authentic
as the Vedic tradition. Vedas and Agamas are intimately related. The Agama claims that it
provides the practical application and the means of action for realizing the teaching of the Vedas
and Vedanta.

The two traditions, however, hold divergent views on matters such as God; relationship between
man and God; the ways of worship; and path to salvation etc .The Vedic concept of God is
omniscient, omnipotent, a formless absolute entity manifesting itself in phenomenal world of
names and forms. The Agama which is allied to Tantra regards God as a personal deity with
recognizable forms and attributes.

The Vedas do not discuss about venerating the icons; though the icons (prathima or prathika)
were known to be in use. Their preoccupation was more with the nature, abstract divinities and
not so much with their physical representations. The Vedas did however employ a number of
symbols, such as the wheel, umbrella, spear, noose, foot-prints, lotus, goad and vehicles etc.
These symbols, in the later ages, became a part of the vocabulary of the iconography.

The idea of multiple forms of divinity was in the Vedas .They spoke about thirty-three divinities
classified into those of the earth, heaven and intermediate regions. Those comprised twelve
Adityas, aspects of energy and life; eleven Rudras, aspects ferocious nature; eight Vasus, the
directional forces; in addition to the earth and the space.

The aspects of the thirty-three divinities were later condensed to three viz. Agni, the aspect of
fire, energy and life on earth; Vayu, the aspect of space, movement and air in the mid-region; and
Surya the universal energy and life that sustains and governs all existence, in the heavenly
region, the space. This provided the basis for the evolution of the classic Indian trinity, the
Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu.

Rig Veda at many places talks in terms of saguna, the supreme divinity with attributes. The
Vedanta ideals of the absolute, attribute- less and limit-less universal consciousness were
evolved during later times as refinements of those Vedic concepts. The Upanishads are the
pinnacles of idealism that oversee all horizons. But, in practice, common people worship variety
of gods in variety of ways for variety of reasons. The worship rendered are relevant in the
context of each ones idea of god; needs and aspirations; fears and hopes; safety and prosperity;
and, the pleasures and pains of life.

Vedic worship is centred on the fire (the Yajna) the visible representation of the divine, certain
religious and domestic rituals, (shrauta sutraas and griyha sutraas), and the sacraments,
(samskaara). In this tradition, the gods and their descriptions are, mostly, symbolic; and not
presented as icons for worship. The hymns of the Rig Veda are the inspired outpourings of joy
and revelations through sublime poetry. The Yajur and Sama Vedas do refer to conduct of
Yajnas; but they also suggest certain esoteric symbolic meaning. And, very few of Vedic rituals
are in common practice today.

Vedic approach to divinity is collective in character involving a number of priests specialized in

their branch of learning and having specific roles to play in the conduct of the Yajna.. The
Yajnas always take place in public places and are of congregational nature. The Yajnas are
celebrations, performed with exuberance in presence and view of large number of persons
participating with gaiety and enthusiasm.

As compared to Yajnas, the tantric rites are conducted in quiet privacy within secret enclosures
or in secluded spots. TheTantra or Agamic worship is individualistic in its orientation; and, calls
for quiet contemplation, intensity and self-discipline as demanded by its texts. Tantra – Agama
regards its rituals as a sort of direct communication between the worshipper (upasaka) and his or
her personal deity (upasana-devata).Its ultimate aspiration is the unity of the worshipper and
worshipped.

The aim of Agamika, the ardent aspirant, following the Agamas is, therefore, to gain, on his own,
a direct experience (sakshatkara)of his highest ideal. The Agamas provide well defined and time
tested practices leading towards that ideal. It is for this reason the Agamas are called pratyaksha
Shastra (the science of real experience), Sadhana Shastra (the science of spiritual practice)
and Upasana Shastra.

While the Vedic rituals lay a great emphasis on fire rituals and the sacrifices, the Agamas
recommend worship of images of gods as the efficient means to salvation. Its way is through
rituals (tantra) employing word symbols (mantra) and charts (yantra). These symbolic activities
strengthen the individual’s conviction and help her/him to bind a harmonious relation with the
object of worship. The approach of Agama is dualistic: that of a man seeking God the Supreme
whose grace alone can save him from samasara the misery of worldly involvements.

The Upasaka worships the divine through the medium of bera, murthi, archana whose shape is
symbolic. Agamas believe that the worshipper must identify himself with the object of his
worship: na devo devam archayet ( one cannot worship a deity unless one becomes that deity) .
Hence the various ritual practices – mental and physical- meditation , visualization, invoking the
presence of the deity in one’s body (nyasa), mantras and mudras are employed; all aiming to
achieve this identification.
In the Nigama tradition greater attention is paid to the knowledge of the gods, though such
knowledge is not systematized. The Agama texts no doubt extol knowledge; but they also
emphasize that without ritualistic action mere knowing is ineffective and rather pointless. Agama
texts, however, clarify that worship-action (karma) and liberating wisdom are secondary to deep
devotion.

The most distinctive feature of Agamas is immense devotion (Bhakthi) and submission to the
will of god (prapatthi).The two virtues are regarded the primary requisites for attaining
wisdom or enlightenment (jnana) leading to the path of salvation. It is this element of devotion
that has given rise to temple-worship and the ritual-culture associated with it.

To put it in another way, the Agama texts no doubt extol knowledge; but they also emphasize
that without ritualistic action rendered with devotion, any sort of knowledge is ineffective and is
rather pointless. In the Agama context, devotion is understood as intense involvement in worship
of the deity (pujadi sva anugraha bhaktih).

Agama – Nigama rapprochement

Although Agama and Nigama traditions started on divergent approach, in course of time there
was reproachment between the two. Tantra-Agama barrowed many details from Vedic tradition
and adopted many more. And, In due course the Agama came to be accepted as a subsidiary
culture (Vedanga) within the Vedic framework.

The temple worship, per se, is guided by its related Agama texts which invariably borrow the
mantras from the Vedic traditions and the ritualistic details from Tantric traditions. This has the
advantage of claiming impressive validity from Nigama, the Vedas; and at the same time,
carrying out popular methods of worship.

Even in performance of rituals, the Agama harmonized within itself the elements of Veda and
Tantra. For instance, the Bodhayana shesha sutra and Vishhnu-pratishtha kalpa outline certain
rite for the installation of an image of Vishnu and for conducting other services. The Agama
texts combined the rules of the Grihya sutras with the Tantric practices and formed their own set
of rules.

Further, while installing the image of the deity, the Grihya Sutras do not envisage Prana-
prathistapana ritual (transferring life into the idol by breathing life into it); but the Agamas
borrowed this practice from the Tantra school and combined it with the Vedic ceremony of
“opening the eyes of the deity with a needle”.

While rendering worship-services to the deity, in open, the Agamas reduced the use of Tantric
mantras; and instead adopted Vedic mantras for services such as offering ceremonial bath,
waving lights etc. though such practices were not a part of the Vedic mode of worship.
The Agamas, largely, adopted the Vedic style homas and Yajnas. But, they did not reject the
Tantric rituals and Tantric mantras altogether.

Agama – History

Agamas are a set of ancient texts and are the guardians of tradition. They are of uncertain
antiquity. And, there are many legends associated with their origins. Dr. Surendranath Gupta
says “The date of the Agamas cannot be definitely fixed. It maybe suggested that the earliest of
them were written sometime in the second or third century A.D. and these must have been
continued till the thirteenth or fourteenth century”.

The Agamas have come down to us, over the centuries, in oral traditions, from master to disciple.
They are of practical applications in day-to-day worship practices associated, mainly, with
temple-worship. It is likely that, over the centuries, some changes or modifications might have
crept into the pristine lore to suit the changing needs of times according to the local contexts. It
is, therefore, quite possible the original texts became elastic and new ideas entered into its
procedural aspects. We may not be sure that the present versions of the agama are exactly those
which existed at that ancient past.

What we now know as Agama shastra had its roots in the Kalpa-sutras, the supplementary texts
appended to the main division of each Veda. Each of the four Vedas has its own special Kalpa
sutra. They are meant to guide the daily life and conduct of those affiliated to its division.
Generally, the set of Kalpa sutra texts include: Grihya-sutra (relating to domestic
rituals); Srauta-sutra (relating to formal yajnas); Dharma-sutra (relating to code of conduct and
ethics); and Sulba-sutra (relating to mathematical calculations involved in construction of Yajna
altars (vedi, chiti) and platforms); and specification of the implements used in Yajna (yajna-
ayudha).

The initial set of ritual- texts dated around third century, based, mainly, in Grihya-
sutra and Srauta-sutra did not call themselves Agamas. But, at a later period, they came into
prominence as Agama Shastra following the emergence of temple culture. They were rendered
into written form as palm –leaf-texts rather quite late. Even these texts were not easily accessible
outside the priestly class. According to one version, by around 6-7 th centuries, as the Temple-
culture gathered strength, several Agamas were compiled into written texts as manuals for
temple construction and vaastu; as also for deity worship (sakala-aradhana).

The Agama tradition began to flourish by about the 10 th or the 11th century with the advent of the
Bhakthi School having strong faith in worship of icons installed in homes and temples.

But, the history of the Agamas between the period of early texts (3 rd or 4th century) and the
period when they began to come into prominence (say 10 th or 11th century) is rather hazy. No
significant development seems to have taken place during the intervening period.
Agama is of post Darshana period

Most of the ritual-worship sequences that are followed during the present-day seem to have
developed after the establishment of the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy (darshanas).
The changes in religious rituals from the Vedic to the Aagamic find an echo in the themes
elaborated in the six orthodox systems.

A very significant change is the integration of Samkhya ideologies and Yoga practices into
worship-rituals which somehow are juxtaposed with Vedic mantras. The very act
of worshiping an idol is based in the Samkhya concept of duality, while at the same time,
perceiving their essential unity. The worshiper initially regards the idol, the most revered object,
as separate from him/her, whatever is the non-dual philosophical doctrines to which he/she might
be intellectually attracted to. But, the Sadhaka is also aware that the aim and the culmination of
his/her worship practises is to attain the ‘ upasaka-upasya-abhedha-bhava’, the sublime state
where theupasaka comes to identify her/himself with her/his upasya-devata. The summit of the
Sadhana is when the worshiper and the worshipped are united as One. The worship of
the murti is in the manner of the visible leading to invisible.

As regards the elements of Yoga, four of its eight stages are an integral part of worship
sequences, viz. posture, (aasana), breath (life force)-control, (praanayaama), placing or
invoking the divine aspects in self (nyaasa or dhaaranaa or atma-nikshepa ), and deep
concentration and contemplation (dhyaana). There is also the process of transferring ones prana
into the worship-image (dhruva-bera); and identifying the self with the archa image. The object
is the union (yoga) of the individual with the absolute.

Agama – Temple worship

The worship of deities in public or at home might be the immediate cause for emergence of
Agama traditions.

The Agamas in the present day find their full expression in temple- worship. They form the
basis for worship practices at temples, as it exists today. They prescribe the structure and
architecture of various kinds of temples, the customs to be followed, the rituals to be performed
and the festivals to be celebrated. They in fact cover the entire gamut of activities associated with
temples, its activities and its purpose.

The Agamas deal with all types of worship practices followed either in temples or at home;
either in communities or in private; either through image or formless fire or otherwise. The
worship in a temple has to satisfy the needs of individuals as also of the community. Agamas
accommodate collective worship along with individual worship that is characteristically private
when performed at home. The worships that take place in the sanctum and within the temple
premises are important; so are the festivals and occasional processions that involve direct
participation of the entire community. They complement each other. While the worship of the
deity in the sanctum might be an individual’s spiritual or religious need ; the festival s are the
expression of a community’s joy , exuberance , devotion , pride and are also an idiom of a
community’s cohesiveness .

The temple worship ritual has two other distinct aspects; the symbolic and the actual which is
secondary. The former is the inner worship (manasa puja or antar yajna) of the antaryamin (the
inner being) residing in ones heart; and the latter is external worship characterized by splendour,
spectacle and an overflow of religious fervour.

The inner worship involving Tantric rituals that takes place in the privacy of the sanctum is
more significant than the external worship These are in a sequence such as shudhi (purification
of elements), mudras (assumption of appropriate and effective gestures), pranayama (regulation
of breath to enable contemplation of the
divinity), dhyana (contemplation), soham_bhava (identity of the worshipper with the
worshipped), mantra (words to help realize the deity in worshipper’s heart)
and mandala (diagrams representing aspects of divinity). In manasa puja, God is the
worshipper’s innermost spirit. The worshipper visualizes and contemplates on the resplendent
form of the deity as abiding in his own heart.

As regards the external worship it involves several kinds of service sequences

(Shodasha Upachara) submitted, in full view of the worshipping devotees, to the personified god
who is revered as the most venerated guest and as the Lord of Lords who presides over the
universe (lokadyaksha). The services are rendered with gratitude, love and devotion to the
accompaniment of chanting of passages and mantras taken from Vedas. The worship routine is
rendered more colourful and attractive by presentations of music, dance, drama and other
performing arts. These also ensure larger participation of the enthusiastic devotees.

Thus, at the temple, both the Agama worship-sequences and the symbolic Tantric rituals take
place; but each in its sphere.

The worship practices that are followed in the temples are truly an amalgam of dissimilar
streams of ideologies and practices. The rituals here are a combination of concepts, procedures
and symbolism. Each of these finds its relevance in its own context, without conflict or
contradiction. The temple and iconic worship may appear like tantric. However, in practice the
worship at temples involves both homa and archa rituals. The Agama mode of worship
invariably borrows the mantras from the Vedic traditions along with ritualistic details from
Tantric traditions. Vedic mantras are chanted in traditional manner while performing services
such as ceremonial bath, adoring the deity with flowers, or waving lights. Apart from that, the
Agama practices combine in themselves the elements from yoga, purana and Janapada the
popular celebrations where all segments of the community joyously participate with great
enthusiasm and devotion.
The Janapada includes periodic Utsavas, processions, singing, dancing, playacting, colourful
lighting, spectacular fireworks , offerings of various kinds etc.; as also various forms of physical
austerities accompanied by sincere prayers.

You find that temple worship is judicious mix (misra) of: the Vedic mantras and its vision of the
divine; the tantric rituals with their elaborate symbolisms; the Agamic worship practices,
attitudes and devotion; the discipline of Yoga and its symbolic purification gestures; and, the
exuberance and gaiety of folk festivals, processions and celebrations in which the entire
community participates with great enthusiasm. All these elements combine harmoniously in the
service of the deity and create an integrated Temple –culture.

That is so far as Agama in general is concerned.