Amnayas are holy scriptures belonging to the

Tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

school of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

which is rooted in the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

. Āmnāya (आम्नाय) is a Sanskrit word, which means sacred tradition that is, unchanging atemporal tradition, handed over by repetition or that which is committed to memory. Āmnāya (आम्नाय) refers to a classification of Kula Agama scriptures, mostly

tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

s belonging to the Kula tradition within

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

and

Saktism Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti ( Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, all ...

. The oldest and commonly accepted classification of four āmnāyas is found in sources such as the

Kubjikāmatatantra Kubjika ( sa, कुब्जिक Kubjikā, also known as Vakreshvari, Vakrika, Chinjini) is the primary deity of Kubjikamata, a sect of non- Siddhāntika mantra marga sect. The worship of Kubjika as one of the main aspect of Adishakti was in it ...

, the Manthānabhairavatantra (yogakhaṇḍa) and the Saṃketapaddhati. These are the four āmnāyas, each corresponding with a direction and

yuga A ''yuga'', in Hinduism, is generally used to indicate an age of time. In the ''Rigveda'', a ''yuga'' refers to generations, a long period, a very brief period, or a yoke (joining of two things). In the ''Mahabharata'', the words ''yuga'' and ...

: # Pūrvāmnāya (eastern doctrine,

Satya Yuga ''Satya Yuga'' ( ''Krita Yuga''), in Hinduism, is the first and best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Kali Yuga'' of the previous cycle and followed by ''Treta Yuga''. ''Satya Yuga'' lasts for 1,728,000 yea ...

), # Dakṣiṇāmnāya (southern doctrine,

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by '' Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine years ...

), # Uttarāmnāya (northern doctrine,

Dvapara Yuga ''Dvapara Yuga'' ( Dwapara Yuga), in Hinduism, is the third and third best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Treta Yuga'' and followed by ''Kali Yuga''. ''Dvapara Yuga'' lasts for 864,000 years (2,400 divine y ...

), # Paścimāmnāya (western doctrine,

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which is ...

). There are however, different classifications of āmnāya counting up to five or six and considered very secret. Urdhwamnaya the Quarter Above and Anuttaramnaya, the Quarter Beyond are the fifth and sixth secretive Amnayas. As per tantras the six Amnayas are nothing but six faces of Lord Shiva. Four of these are easily revealed but fifth and sixth faces are hidden and secret.

References

* Hindu philosophical concepts Hindu texts {{Hindu-philo-stub