Āgama śāstra — the revealed scriptures of Śaiva, Śākta and Vaiṣṇava worship
आगम शास्त्र
Also written: agama shastra · agama scriptures · agama texts · what is agama · agama meaning · 28 agamas · 28 shaiva agamas list · shaiva agamas
The Vedas are chanted; the Āgamas are enacted. Every temple in India is consecrated by an Āgama, every image is installed by one, every daily pūjā and every festival follows one, and every initiation — dīkṣā — is given according to one. Yet most people who worship in those temples have never heard the word. This page names the scriptures: which texts, which families, what each contains, and how they stand beside the Veda.
आगतं शिववक्त्रेभ्यो गतं च गिरिजाश्रुतौ। मतं च वासुदेवस्य तस्मादागम उच्यते॥
āgataṁ śiva-vaktrebhyo gataṁ ca girijā-śrutau mataṁ ca vāsudevasya tasmād āgama ucyate
Come forth (ā-gata) from the mouths of Śiva, gone (gata) into the ears of Girijā, approved (mata) by Vāsudeva — therefore it is called Āgama.
The verse is a mnemonic, not an etymology, but it says what the tradition holds: the Āgamas are revelation in dialogue. Śiva teaches, Pārvatī asks; or Devī teaches and Bhairava asks; or Nārāyaṇa teaches and the sages receive. The form is question and answer, the content is practice — how to worship, how to build, how to initiate, how to realise — and the authority is the same as the Veda's for those who follow it.
वैदिकी तान्त्रिकी चैव द्विविधा श्रुतिः कीर्तिता।
vaidikī tāntrikī caiva dvividhā śrutiḥ kīrtitā
Revelation (śruti) is declared to be twofold — the Vedic and the Tantric.
What an Āgama contains — the four pādas
A complete Āgama has four quarters (pāda). The order of the quarters varies by text and tradition, but the four are constant, and together they describe a whole religion: its philosophy, its ritual, its daily discipline and its inner practice.
| Pāda | Also called | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| Vidyā-pāda | Jñāna-pāda | The philosophy: the nature of Śiva (pati), the soul (paśu), the bonds (pāśa), the tattvas, the means of release |
| Kriyā-pāda | — | The ritual: temple construction, image-making, consecration (pratiṣṭhā), the forms of pūjā, festivals, prāyaścitta |
| Caryā-pāda | — | The conduct: daily observances of the initiate and the temple priest, purity, the ācāra of the tradition |
| Yoga-pāda | — | The inner practice: prāṇāyāma, dhāraṇā, the subtle body, mantra as a means of union |
The 28 Śaiva Siddhānta Āgamas
The Śaiva Siddhānta tradition counts twenty-eight root Āgamas (mūlāgama), revealed by the five faces of Sadāśiva. Ten are the Śivabheda, spoken by the aspect of Śiva; eighteen are the Rudrabheda, spoken by the aspect of Rudra. Each root Āgama has subsidiary Upāgamas, traditionally two hundred and seven in all. The names below are the standard list of the Kāmika and the Tamil Śaiva tradition; a few titles vary between lists.
| # | Āgama | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kāmika | The most used temple Āgama in Tamil Nadu — consecration, daily pūjā, festivals; its kriyā-pāda runs to thousands of verses |
| 2 | Yogaja | Yoga and the inner worship |
| 3 | Cintya | Meditation on the forms of Śiva |
| 4 | Kāraṇa | Temple ritual; with the Kāmika, the working manual of most southern temples |
| 5 | Ajita | Architecture and iconography — the measurements of images and shrines |
| 6 | Dīpta | Consecration and the installation of images |
| 7 | Sūkṣma | The subtle doctrine of the tattvas |
| 8 | Sahasra | Mantra and the thousand forms |
| 9 | Aṁśumat (Aṁśumān) | Iconometry; the proportions of the mūrti |
| 10 | Suprabheda | Dīkṣā and the stages of initiation |
| # | Āgama | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Vijaya | Temple ritual |
| 12 | Niśvāsa (Niśvāsatattvasaṁhitā) | The oldest surviving Śaiva Āgama manuscript (Nepal, c. 9th c.) — the root of the whole Siddhānta corpus |
| 13 | Svāyambhuva (Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṅgraha) | The vidyā-pāda in sūtra form; commented by Sadyojyotis |
| 14 | Āgneya (Anala) | Fire rites |
| 15 | Vīra | Heroic worship; a source for the Vīraśaiva tradition |
| 16 | Raurava (Rauravasūtrasaṅgraha) | Philosophy and ritual; a standard text of the Pondicherry critical editions |
| 17 | Makuṭa | The crown of the tattvas |
| 18 | Vimala | Purification rites |
| 19 | Candrajñāna | Lunar observances and vratas |
| 20 | Bimba (Mukhabimba) | Image worship |
| 21 | Prodgīta | Hymns and the sung rite |
| 22 | Lalita | The graceful forms of Śiva |
| 23 | Siddha | The way of the siddhas |
| 24 | Santāna | Lineage and succession of teachers |
| 25 | Sarvokta (Śarvokta) | What Śarva has spoken — a compendium |
| 26 | Pārameśvara | The Supreme Lord — ritual and doctrine; an early Nepalese manuscript survives |
| 27 | Kiraṇa | A complete four-pāda Āgama, widely commented (Rāmakaṇṭha) |
| 28 | Vātula (Vātulottara) | Yoga and the subtle body |
The Bhairava Āgamas and the Trika
Beside the dualist Siddhānta stands the non-dualist stream of Kashmir, whose scriptures are counted as sixty-four Bhairava Āgamas (Bhairavāgama) in eight groups of eight — the Bhairavāṣṭaka, Yāmalāṣṭaka, Matāṣṭaka, Maṅgalāṣṭaka, Cakrāṣṭaka, Bahurūpāṣṭaka, Vāgīśāṣṭaka and Śikhāṣṭaka. Where the Siddhānta Āgamas are spoken by Sadāśiva and keep Śiva and the soul distinct, the Bhairava Āgamas are spoken by Bhairava and teach that Śiva alone is.
| Text | Place in the tradition |
|---|---|
| Mālinīvijayottara Tantra | The root scripture of the Trika; Abhinavagupta's Tantrāloka is its exposition |
| Svacchanda Tantra | The Bhairava cult of Kashmir; commented by Kṣemarāja |
| Netra Tantra | Amṛteśvara, the eye of Śiva; protection and the subtle body |
| Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra | One hundred and twelve dhāraṇās — the practice manual of the non-dual way |
| Parātrīśikā (Parātriṁśikā) | Thirty-six verses on the supreme word; Abhinavagupta's Vivaraṇa |
| Rudrayāmala Tantra | A yāmala (Śiva–Śakti pair text); much later literature cites it as its source |
| Tantrāloka of Abhinavagupta | Not an Āgama but the synthesis of all of them — 'the light on the Tantras', c. 1000 CE |
चैतन्यमात्मा।
caitanyam ātmā
Consciousness is the Self.
The Śākta Tantras
The Śākta scriptures are also called Tantras and also counted as sixty-four, though the lists differ. They divide by the Goddess they centre on. The Śrīkula texts worship Tripurasundarī through the Śrī Yantra; the Kālīkula texts worship Kālī and the fierce Mahāvidyās. Many are framed as Bhairava teaching Devī, or Devī teaching Bhairava.
- Vāmakeśvara TantraNityāṣoḍaśikārṇava + Yoginīhṛdaya
- The root scripture of Śrīvidyā: the sixteen nityā goddesses, the Śrī Cakra, and the 'heart of the yoginī'.
- Tantrarāja TantraŚrīkula
- Thirty-six chapters on the Śrī Cakra and its worship, the standard manual of the Śrīvidyā rite.
- Kulārṇava TantraKaula
- The best-known statement of the Kaula way, its initiation, its discipline and its warnings — the source of the principle that what binds the ordinary person liberates the prepared one.
- Mahānirvāṇa TantraBengal
- A late (18th c.) and widely read text ordering the whole of life — marriage, inheritance, worship — under the Goddess.
- Devī MāhātmyaDurgā Saptaśatī · Caṇḍī
- Thirteen chapters of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (81–93): the Goddess as the supreme power, recited at every Navarātri. A Purāṇic text that the Śākta tradition reads as its scripture.
- Tripurā RahasyaJñāna-khaṇḍa
- Dattātreya's teaching to Paraśurāma — the philosophy of Śrīvidyā as pure non-dual consciousness.
- Lalitā SahasranāmaBrahmāṇḍa Purāṇa
- The thousand names of Lalitā, the liturgy of every Śrīvidyā household; Bhāskararāya's commentary is the tradition's key.
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता। नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः॥
yā devī sarva-bhūteṣu śakti-rūpeṇa saṁsthitā namas tasyai namas tasyai namas tasyai namo namaḥ
To the Goddess who abides in all beings in the form of power — salutation to her, salutation to her, salutation to her, again and again.
The Vaiṣṇava Āgamas — Pāñcarātra and Vaikhānasa
Vaiṣṇava temple worship rests on two Āgamic systems. The Pāñcarātra, revealed by Nārāyaṇa himself, is the larger: one hundred and eight Saṁhitās are counted, of which the Sāttvata, Pauṣkara and Jayākhya are the 'three gems' (ratnatraya). The Vaikhānasa, descending from the sage Vikhanas, is Vedic in its self-understanding and governs Tirumala and many Andhra temples.
पाञ्चरात्रस्य कृत्स्नस्य वक्ता नारायणः स्वयम्।
pāñcarātrasya kṛtsnasya vaktā nārāyaṇaḥ svayam
Of the entire Pāñcarātra the speaker is Nārāyaṇa himself.
| System | Key texts | Where it rules |
|---|---|---|
| Pāñcarātra | Sāttvata, Pauṣkara, Jayākhya Saṁhitās (the ratnatraya); Ahirbudhnya Saṁhitā; Lakṣmī Tantra; Īśvara, Pārameśvara and Pādma Saṁhitās | Śrīraṅgam, Kāñcī, Melkote, most Śrīvaiṣṇava temples; Rāmānuja defended its authority in the Āgamaprāmāṇya tradition |
| Vaikhānasa | Vimānārcanākalpa of Marīci, the Kāśyapa Jñānakāṇḍa, Bhṛgu Saṁhitās, Atri Saṁhitā | Tirumala-Tirupati and the older Andhra and Tamil Viṣṇu temples |
Āgama and the temple
Nothing in a Hindu temple is arbitrary. The site, the orientation, the proportions of the sanctum, the height of the tower, the iconography of every niche, the sequence of the consecration, the five or six daily services, the annual festival with its flag-hoisting and its car — all of it is prescribed in the kriyā-pāda of an Āgama, and the temple's priests are initiated into that Āgama. This is why a Śaiva temple in Tamil Nadu and one in Nepal, with no contact for centuries, perform recognisably the same rite.
- Tamil Nadu
- Kāmika and Kāraṇa Āgamas in the great Śiva temples; Pāñcarātra and Vaikhānasa in the Viṣṇu temples; the Tirumuṟai sung beside them.
- Kerala
- The Tantrasamuccaya of Cennas Nārāyaṇan Nambūdiri (15th c.) — a digest of the Āgamas that every Kerala temple follows, for Śiva, Viṣṇu and Devī alike.
- Kashmir and Nepal
- The Svacchanda and Netra Tantras; the Nepalese manuscripts preserved the Siddhānta Āgamas the south had lost.
- Bengal and Assam
- The Śākta Tantras — the Kālīkula texts and the pīṭhas, Kāmākhyā above all.
- Karnataka
- The Vīraśaiva reading of the Vīra Āgama and the Siddhānta; the Śivayogapradīpikā.
Nigama and Āgama
The Vedic and the Tantric revelations side by side: forms, eligibility, and how they were woven into one practice.
Tantra — what it actually is
The method behind the Āgamas: mantra, yantra, nyāsa, dīkṣā, the left and right approaches.
Śaiva traditions
Siddhānta, Trika, Pāśupata, Vīraśaiva, Nātha — the schools that read these Āgamas.
Śākta traditions
Śrīkula and Kālīkula, Śrīvidyā, the ten Mahāvidyās — the Goddess as the supreme.
Vaiṣṇava traditions
The four sampradāyas and the bhakti movement that the Pāñcarātra temples carried.
Pūjā and upāsanā
The sixteen offerings and the inner worship the Āgamas prescribe for the household.
The Āgama traditions and the six paths
Śaiva, Śākta, Vaiṣṇava, Gāṇapatya, Saura and Kaumāra — the ṣaṇmata, the six classical paths of worship, their …
Śaiva traditions
Śiva as the supreme: Śaiva Siddhānta, Kashmir Śaivism (Trika), Pāśupata, Kāpālika and Kālāmukha, Vīraśaiva-Liṅ…
Śākta traditions — the Goddess as supreme
Devī as the ultimate reality: Śrīkula and Kālīkula, Śrīvidyā and the Śrī Yantra, the ten Mahāvidyās, the Devī …
Vaiṣṇava traditions
Viṣṇu and His descents: the four sampradāyas, Pāñcarātra and Vaikhānasa, the Ālvārs, the great ācāryas, the Ga…
Gāṇapatya — Gaṇeśa as the supreme
The tradition that holds Gaṇeśa to be the ultimate reality: the Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa, the aṣṭavināyaka, the s…
Saura — the worship of the Sun
The sun as the visible face of the divine: the Gāyatrī, Sūrya Namaskāra, the great sun temples, Chhath, and wh…
Last revised 2026-10-31. Corrections are welcome — see how this site is written.