The Agama Encyclopaedia (Revised Edition of Agama Kosa) (In Twelve Volumes)

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Item Code: IHL102
Author: S.K. Ramachandra Rao
Publisher: Sri Satguru Publications
Language: English
Edition: 2005
ISBN: 8170308232
Pages: 2308
Cover: Hardcover
Other Details 8.8 Inch X 5.8 Inch
Weight 4.50 kg
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Book Description

From the Jacket

The Agama literature includes the Silpa-Sastra, which is basic to iconography. Worship dealt with in the Agama necessarily involves images which are worship-worthy. The rituals and sequences that are elaborated in the Agama books find relevance only in the context of an icon which is contained in a shrine. And icons are meaningful only in the context of shrines and worship.

Agama texts are not easily accessible to the people. A large number of them are still available only in manuscripts; some of them which have been printed are only in their Sanskrit originals. There is need, therefore, to present relevant excerpts from them at least, to make the volumes on iconography more meaningful.

Further, Indian temples are to be considered only in the general framework of temple culture, which include not only religious and philosophical aspects but social, aesthetic and economic aspect also.

The volumes named Agama Encyclopaedia deals with the temple-culture and Agama framework, the sectarian division of the Agama into Saiva, Vaisnava and Sakta, and the topics selected from the Agama texts follow. Thus, the entirety of the Agama, literature in so far as it is relevant to the temple-culture is brought within the scope of The Agama Encyclopaedia.

Vidyalankara, Sastra-Chudamini, Sangita-Kalaratna, Professor Saligrama Krishna Ramachandra Rao, is a well-known scholar who combines traditional learning with modern research. Well versed in Sanskrit, Pali, Ardhmagadhi and several modern Indian languages and acquainted with Tibetan and some European languages, he has written extensively on Vedanta, Buddhism, Janism, Indian Culture, Art and Literature.

In his professional career, however, he was a Professor of Psychology. He has headed the Department of Clinical Psychology in the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience?s, Bangalore and the Department of Indian Culture in the Collision College Study Center of the University of the Pacific (U.S.A.) He was the senior associate of National Institute of Advanced Studies (Indian Institute of Science), Bangalore, and Guest Faculty, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and member of the Governing Council of TTD (SVCL Research Center), Tirupati. He has been member of Karnataka State Lalitha Kala Academy and Sangita Nritya Academy and Sangita Nritya Academy; he has served on the Agama Board (Govt. of Karnataka). He is President of Silpa-Kala Pratisthana. The Govt. of Karnataka has honoured him with the 1986 Rajyotsava Award. He has received awards from Lalita-Kala Academy and Sangita Nritya Academy. He has been Awarded the Veda-Sanman for the year 2000 by the Govt. of India (Ministry of HRD, Sandipani Mahavidhyalaya, Ujjain). He has written more than Sixty Books in Kannada, a Play in Sanskrit, and a Pali Commentary on a Buddhist classic. One of his books on Iconography in Kannada has won the State Sahitya Academy Award, as also another of his Book on the Tirupati Temple.

Introduction

The Agama literature includes the Silpa-Sastra, which is basic to iconography. Worship dealt with in the Agama necessarily involves images which are worship-worthy. The rituals and sequences that are elaborated in the Agama books find relevance only in the context of an icon which is contained in a shrine. And icons are meaningful only in the context of shrines and worship.

Agama texts are not easily accessible to the people. A large number of them are still available only in manuscripts; some of them which have been printed are only in their Sanskrit originals. There is need, therefore, to present relevant excerpts from them at least, to make the volumes on iconography more meaningful.

Further, Indian temples are to be considered only in the general framework of temple culture, which include not only religious and philosophical aspects but social, aesthetic and economic aspects also.

The volumes named Agama Encyclopaedia will deal with the temple-culture and Agama framework, the sectarian division of the Agama into Saiva, Vaisnava and Sakta, and the topics selected from the Agama texts will follow. Thus, the entirety of the Agama, literature in so far as it is relevant to the temple-culture is brought within the scope of The Agama Encyclopaedia.

The volume deals with the general problems relating to the idea of Agama and the broad details of the tradition that is known after Agama. In the historical perspective Agamic tradition and the Vedic tradition were initially distinguished, but later the two fused. The circumstances that favoured the separation and integration have been explained. The role that Tantra played in crystallizing the Agama tradition has been elaborately explained and illustrated. And more importantly the volumes deal almost exclusively with the essential details of temple-culture in India Without an adequate appreciation of this context, other aspects of Agama cannot become meaningful. In one of the appendices, a fairly exhaustive account of Tantra has been given, for this has provided the major dimension to the Agama, especially of the Sakta pursuation.

The volumes which were originally published in the period 1989-1994 by the Kalpatharu Research Academy, Bangalore are being reprinted now, and I am grateful to my friend Shri Suni Gupta of the Indian Books Centre, Delhi for publishing a revised edition of the volumes.

 

Contents

 

Volume I
Chapter I
 
THE AGAMA CONTEXT 1
Chapter II  
AGAMA OUTLOOK 27
Chapter III  
TEMPLE CULTURE 36
APPENDIX I 68
APPENDIX II 112
APPENDIX III 123
REFERENCES AND NOTES 127
Volume II
 
Chapter I  
SECTARIAN DEVELOPMENTS 1
(Saiva and Vaisnava)  
Chapter II  
WORSHIP OF SIVA 13
Chapter III  
SAIVISM 28
Chapter IV  
SAIVA-SIDDHANTA (1) 47
Chapter V  
SAIVA SIDDHANTA (2) 71
Chapter VI  
SAKTA-AGAMA 109
Appendix I 145
Appendix II 147
Appendix III 149
Appendix IV 152
Appendix V 161
Appendix VI 165
Appendix VII 167
Volume Third
 
Chapter I  
Historical Prospective 1
Chapter II  
The Vaikhanasa Community 39
Chapter III  
Vaikhanasa Agama 77
Chapter IV  
Vaikhanasa Philosophy 117
Appendix I 139
Appendix II 142
Appendix III 144
Appendix IV 147
Appendix V 149
Appendix VI 161
Appendix VII 182
Appendix VIII 186
Appendix IX 227
Volume Four
 
Chapter I  
THE BHAGAVATA BACKGROUND 1
Chapter II  
THE PANCARATRA LITERAURE 21
Chapter III  
THE PANCARATRA OUTLOOK 53
Chapter IV  
PANCARATRA IDEOLOGY 70
Chapter V  
THE DEITY AND ITS MODES 94
Chapter VI  
PANCARATRA PRACTICE 131
Chapter VII  
TANTRA-SARA-SANGRAHA 145
Appendix I 169
Appendix II 172
Appendix III 175
Appendix IV 176
Appendix V 178
Appendix VI 180
Appendix VII 182
Appendix VIII 184
Volume Five
 
Chapter I  
BACKGROND 1
Chapter 2  
THE SAMAYA IDEOLOGY 45
Chapter 3  
THE IDEA OF ANTARYAGA 79
Chapter 4  
LITERATURE 106
Appendix I 121
Appendix II 124
Appendix III 128
Appendix IV 133
Appendix V 143
Appendix VI 147
Appendix VII 149
Appendix VIII 152
Volume Six
 
Chapter I  
ALAYA 1
Chapter II  
WORSHIP IN TEMPLE 79
Chapter III  
RITUAL REQUIREMENTS 96
Chapter IV  
DAILY RITUALS 116
Chapter V  
FESTIVALS 131
Chapter VI  
SYMBOLISM OF RITUALS 145
Volume Seven
 
Chapter I  
THE WORSHIP RITUALS 1
Chapter II  
SNANA: RITUAL BATH 18
Chapter III  
FIVEFOLD PURIFICATION (PANCA-SUDDHI) 45
Chapter Four  
ARTICLES IN WORSHIP 101
Volume Eight
 
Chapter I  
MUDRA IN WORSHIP 1
Chapter II  
THE MODES OF MUDRAS 94
Chapter III  
DEITY-SPECIFIC MUDRAS 112
Volume Nine
 
Chapter I  
THE CONCEPT OF CONSECRATION 1
Chapter II  
CONSECRATION OF SHRINE 25
Chapter III  
CONSECRATION OF ICONS 48
Appendix I 73
Appendix II 90
Appendix III 102
Appendix IV 106
Appendix V 108
Appendix VI 114
Appendix VII 116
Appendix VIII 123
Appendix IX 131
Appendix X 133
Volume Ten
Chapter I
 
INTRODUCTION 1
Chapter II  
NITYARCANA IN SIVA TEMPLES 16
Chapter III  
NITYARCANA-VIDHI (ACCORDING TO TANTRA-SARA) 111
Chapter IV  
NITYARCANA IN A VISNU TEMPLE (PANCARATRA MODE OF WORSHIP) 137
Chapter V  
NITYARCANA OF DEVI 197
Sample Pages

Vol-I



Vol-II



Vol-III



Vol-IV



Vol-V



Vol-VI



Vol-VII



Vol-VIII



Vol-IX



Vol-X



Vol-XI



Vol-XII



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