Meaning “tradition” or “received knowledge” in Sanskrit, the term refers to a set of scriptures within Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, the scriptures convey ritual knowledge and comprise Saivite, Vaishnavite and Sakta texts in Sanskrit and Tamil, which are known as the Saiva Agamas, Pancaratra Samhitas and Sakta Tantras respectively. Within Mahayana Buddhism, the term refers to Pali scriptures known as nikaya, while in Jainism, it refers to the Jain Agamas, canonical texts that contain the teachings of Mahavira.