Agama, in Sanskrit, means, "that which has come down" . It refers to knowledge coming from God into man's intuitive consciousness. Possibly it means wisdom propagated from the past and thus coming down from history or our forefathers - perhaps from the Indus Valley, as it exhibits great similarity to the Agamic religious patterns.

Agamas are canonical texts that are believed to be 'anAdi' or without-beginning. They are believed to have come down from Godhead, just like the Vedas. They are also referred to as Tantra or Samhita. All the six major traditions of Sanatana Dharma - Shaiva, Shakta, Vaishnava, Kaumara, Ganapatya and Saura have their own set of tantras. The most popular are the Saivagamas (Siva), Vaikhanasa and Pancaratra agamas (Vishnu) and Shakta agamas (Devi). Earliest surviving manuscript of a Saivagama is dated to 4th century.

Temple worship across the subcontinent and even in medieval South East Asia was based on the agamas, that describe everything from site selection for a temple, karshana/construction,pratishtha/installation of deities, kumbhabhisheka/consecration, puja/worship rituals and utsava/ festivals. It is a living tradition, still followed across temples in South India. Agamas are a treasure trove of knowledge, with rich material on urban planning, architecture, design, sculpture, music, dance, many types of plants and flowers used in worship, festivals, scientific time measurement, scales for construction and so on.

"Agama ritual" is a broad term, covering temple rituals, personal rituals, social practices and much more. Most of our daily rituals can be traced back to agamic roots. Flag-hoisting, raksha bandhan, applying vibhuti, giving tambula/betel-leaves and nuts, waving of aarti lamps, removing of the evil eye, homa/ fire worship for various results, performing dana/charity, Vastu practices... etc.

This Patasala accepts students from hereditary families who have been practising and preserving these traditions. There are approximately 20 students in this Patasala.