Executive Officer Paper II · 5 Temple Agamas · APPSC Paper I
5.1 Temple Agamas notes
3 notes, in reading order.
- 5.1.1Vaikhanasa, Pancharatra and Chattada Srivaishnava
The Vaishnava Agamas come in two traditions, Vaikhanasa (the oldest, Vedic, hereditary, the rule at Tirumala, known for the Panchabera) and Pancharatra (Tantric, initiation-based, the five samskaras, popularised by Ramanuja), while the Chattada Srivaishnavas are not a third Agama but a group of Ramanuja's followers who serve in Vishnu temples; EO Paper II asks one fact per item.
Standard · 14 min · Read here - 5.1.2Saiva and Shakta Agamas and sects
Saiva temples follow the 28 Saiva Agamas (10 Shivabheda + 18 Rudrabheda); the syllabus groups Saivam into Smarta (Advaita, Panchayatana), Adi Saiva (hereditary temple priests born of Siva's five faces), Veera Saiva and its Jangamas (Basava, ishtalinga) and Kapalika (skull-bearing ascetics), with Aradhya, Pashupata and Kalamukha beside them, while Shakteya worship of the Goddess follows the 64 Tantras.
Standard · 17 min · Read here - 5.1.3Temple worship: terms, utsavams and rituals
The Agamas turn the formless God of the Vedas (Nigamas) into a God worshipped in an image, and give temple worship its vocabulary: four padas, bera (the image, in five kinds), Pratima-lakshana (rules for making it), daily upacharas, the Brahmotsavam that runs from Ankurarpana and Dhvajarohanam to Avabhritha (the closing bath) and Dhvajavarohanam, and Samprokshana (re-consecration) to renew a temple.
Standard · 15 min · Read here
Practise Temple Agamas. Questions with answers explained, from the same topics.
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