The Advaitist

Shiva Tantra ( Sanskrit: शिव तन्त्र , Bengali: শিব তন্ত্র ), also known as Agama Shastra (आगम शास्त्र / আগম শাস্ত্র), is the religious literature associated with the Pashupata school of Shaivism as discussed earlier. The Shiva Tantra texts contain guidelines for worship and rituals, prayogas using various mantra, holy places, festivals, philosophy and spirituality and temple building. Pashupata was the oldest form of Shaiva Tantra prevalent in Northern India during latter Mahabharata times and is also known as Agamanta Shaivism. As per the Mahabharata, the Pashupata Shaivism doctrine of Tantra was first proclaimed by Bhagavat Shrikanthanatha (Sanskrit: भगवत् श्रीकण्ठनाथ, Bengali: ভগবত্ শ্রীকণ্ঠনাথ ) As per P C Bagchi's research, there were 18 or 28 Shiva Tantra texts depending on different traditions. Shiva Tantra Texts based on Rudra Tradition The 18 Shiva Tantra texts are also known as Agama Shastra . As per Nishvasa Agama or Nishvasa Tantra, these 18 S...

What is Agama Shastra? As discussed earlier , Pashupata school of Shaivism had a large number of texts known as Agama Shastra (Sanskrit: आगम शास्त्र, Bengali: আগম শাস্ত্র), preserved manuscripts of which are dated to 700 to 800 AD. Agama Shastra contain guidelines for worship and rituals, philosophy and spirituality and temple building. Pashupata was the oldest form of Shaiva Tantra prevalent in Northern India during latter Mahabharata times and is also known as Agamanta Shaivism. As per the Mahabharata, the Pashupata Shaivism doctrine of Tantra was first proclaimed by Bhagavat Shrikanthanatha (Sanskrit: भगवत् श्रीकण्ठनाथ, Bengali: ভগবত্ শ্রীকণ্ঠনাথ ) As per P C Bagchi's research, there were 18 or 28 Agama Shastra texts. Agama Shastra Texts The 18 Agama Shastra texts are also known as Shiva Tantra. As per Nishvasa Agama or Nishvasa Tantra, these 18 Shiva Tantra texts are traditionally believed to be transmitted by Rudra and hence also known as Rudragama / रुद्राग...

Tantra: "Scripture by which knowledge is spread". In this post I will give an introduction to Tantra, which is a scared system of religion and philosophy, and an integral part of Hinduism. What Tantra Is First let us be very clear on what Tantra is and is not. Trantra/ Agamas are a broad class of religious Hindu works. They are mostly based on the Vedas and accept the authority of the Vedas. They contain philosophical speculation as well as concrete practices to apply the philosophy. The practices are quite elegant and elevating in many instances. However in some cases, and not all, these practices have taken hideous forms as those mentioned above. But the essential philosophy is more or less in harmony with the Vedic World View. The difference with respect to Vedas lies in some of the methods and subtle points of differences in philosophy. In terms of applicability to ages of Hindu thought development, they follow the sequence: 1. Sruti for the First Age 2...

Some characteristics of Tantra: a. They accept Vedas as authorities b. They are not in opposition to the six Darshanas c. They are supposed to provide salvation to man in the present age (Kali Yuga) d. They provide not only the principles but also the basis for experience, that is, theory and experiment e. They are divided into three main groups: Shiva, Shakti and Vishnu There are 28 Shaiva  Agamas. Previous    Next

As per Tantric tradition, India is divided into three regions: a. Vishnukranta - East India b. Rathakranta - North India c. Ashvakranta - South India Sixty four Tantras are assigned to  each region. Tantras can be classified as: a. Abheda - Non-dualism b. Bheda - Dualism c. Bhedabheda - Both dualism and non-dualism A Tantra is said to consist of seven topics: a. Creation b. Destruction of the Universe c. Worship d. Spiritual Exercises e. Rituals and Ceremonies f. Six actions g. Meditation Previous   Next

Tantra meaning knowledge that is spread to save, is derived from the root tan, "to spread" and the suffix tra, "to save". In a broad sense Tantra refers to a wide class of medieval religious practices and ideas and has eventually become an integral part of modern Hinduism. They contain both philosophy and practical applications of the philosophy. These practices can be divided into three main categories based on : a. the Agamas which are mostly shaivite b. the tantras which are mostly shAkta c. the saMhitas which are mostly viShNuite In a narrower sense, tantra has come to refer to those practices as applicable to worship of Female Goddess or shAkti, and in a still more narrower sense refers to some of the "obscene" practices of the vIras, who are a special category of adherents subscribing to a small sect of the entire tantra way of life. However, tantra is widely misunderstood and the 200 year British rule of India is to blame for this misconcept...

4. Non-Vedic Scriptures -------- 4.1 Agama ---------------- 4.1.1 Vaishnava Agamas ------------------------ 4.1.1.01. Agastya-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.02. Aniruddha-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.03. Ahirbudhnya Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.04. Brahma Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.05. Brihat-Brahma-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.06. Isvara-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.07. Kapinjala-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.08. Gautama-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.09. Citrasikhandi-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.10. Jayakhya-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.11. Jayottara-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.12. Nalakubara-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.13. Naradiya-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.14. Pancaprasna-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.15. Parama-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.16. Paramapurusa-Samhita ------------------------ 4.1.1.17. Parasara-Samhi...