What are the agamas
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āgataṁ śiva vaktrebhyaḥ gataṁ ca girijā mukhe |
mataṁ ca śiva bhaktānām āgamaṁ cheti katyate ||
That which has descended down (ā-gatam) from the faces of Shiva, fell on the ears of Girija, Devi AdiShakti and spread into the world as the conclusive truth or religion (matam) of the devotees of Shiva (Siva bhaktas), is called ĀGAMA.
āgataḥ śivavakrebhyo gatopi girijālaye |
magnatasya hṛdmbhoje tasmādagam ucyate ||
O Durga, it has emanated from Shiva's mouth and has taken root at your lotus heart, therefore it is called Āgama. ~ Āditya Mala (Tantra)
Sadashiva Nāda - Sadashiva taught the Agamas, the Ocean of Scriptures, Tantra Sāgara
sṛṣṭyanantaraṁ eveśaśśuddhādhva viṣayanāṇūn || 63 ||
svāṁśu saṁspaśanādeva kṛtvā dṛkkriyayotkaṭān |
sadāśivopi bhagavān nādarūpatayāgatam|| 64
ṣaṭpādarthamayaṁ jñanaṁ anekacchanda eva tat |
pūrvato daśa saṁkhyātaṁ śivabhedaṁ tathāparam || 65 ||
raudraṁ aṣṭādaśavidhaṁ tebhyo'vādīt kṛpanidhiḥ |
tattaddeśakramānmerāvāgataṁ tantrasāgaram || 66 ||
~ Pauṣkara Āgama, Pramāṇa Patalaḥ, 63-66
Immediately after the creation, Lord Siva, illumined those competent souls who are concerned with the enjoyments of the pure path, Shuddha Adhva with regard to their cognition and action by a mere touch of His rays. Having done so, being in the form of Sadashiva Bhagavan, He taught them the knowledge about the six categories which arose in the form of Nāda.
Having composed it, namely, the Agama in many meters, He, the store-house of spontaneous grace, taught first the tenfold Siva-bheda Agama and then the other, the eighteenfold rudra-bheda Agama. That ocean of Scripture, Tantra Sagara descended to the Mt. Meru through successive regions.
Āgama, the Only Scripture for Kali Yuga
kṛte śrutyukta ācārastretāyāṃ smṛtisambhavaḥ |
dvāpare tu purārauktaṁ kalau āgamakevalam ||
In Kritya Yuga, the golden age the scripture followed is Śruti, the revealed and heard scriptures; in Tretā they followed Śmriti, the remembered scriptures; in Dvāpara Yuga, they followed Purāṇa, the cosmic histories. In Kali Yuga, they are to follow and live only the Āgama.
~ Lord Shiva, Kulārnava Tantra
