Page 57 - Hinduism

tirthas in our country. They describe the methods of penance and devotion to God to attain salvation. They therefore form one of the important class of text-books for our religion. The most important of them are eighteen in number. They are divided into three classes called Sātvika, Rājasa and Tāmasa according as they extol the glory of Viṣṇu, Brahma or Śiva.
There are an equal number of Upapurāṇas which mostly deal with the glories of different Gods.
The Āgamas are treatises by sages on the practical side of religion. They contain rules for the construction of the temples, making of arca, consecration of the temples and idols, worship of the arca and expiatory ceremonies for acts of commission and omission. Incidentally they treat of town planning to show the place of temple in a planned town and the qualifications of the worshipper. The various incarnations of God are also represented in arca and different kinds of arca are consecrated for different purposes of worship. These Āgamas are two-fold, the Vaiṣṇava and the Śaiva according as they treat of the temples, arca and worship of the different forms of Viṣṇu or Śiva. The Pancarātra and the Vaikhānasa are the Vaiṣṇava āgamas. The former is said to be taught by Nārāyaṇa Himself, while the latter is taught by Saint Vikhānas. The ancient work on the Āgamas
are called the Saṁhitas. They are Pādmasaṁhita, 57