List of Hindu texts

{{Hinduism}}{{Scriptures}}{{expand}}
Hindu texts can be broadly divided into Shrutis and Smritis.

==Shruti==


'''Shrutis''' ([[Sanskrit]]: श्रुति, Śruti; lit. “which is heard”) are the most authoritative and canonical Hindu texts. They are believed to be authored by neither agents of God nor man, but rather by “eternal knowledge” (i.e., they're literally ''regarded'' as revelations) transmitted by sages throughout the ages. They were composed orally,{{efn|Not only was theren’t much paper back then, but also for much of the history of [[India]], it was held to be a ''sin'' to write down the Vedas, as this required attention to detail, to prevent the oral Vedic texts from becoming subject to the predictable processes of linguistic drift and change.<ref>
Johnson, [http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2013/05/indian-historical-linguistics "Indian historical linguistics: setting the record straight"]. ''[[The Economist]]'', May 13, 2013.
</ref> {{main|Sanskrit#Sanskrit and artificial intelligence}}}} then memorized and transmitted orally, from one generation to the next, for more than a millennium before they were finally written down into manuscripts.

===Vedas===
The '''Vedas''' ([[Sanskrit]]: वेदः, Vēdaḥ) are [[holy]] writings by the Indo-[[Aryan]] civilization (Not the [[Nazis]]!) from ancient [[India]] and are among the oldest [[holy book|sacred texts]] of any religion, dating from 1500 BCE.{{efn|Compare with the [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[Torah]], which is generally dated to 600 BCE.}} They consist of readings, incantations, spells, hymns, and formulas for priests to read; believed to reproduce the exact sounds of the universe itself at the moment of creation and onwards, and so take the said form. According to the Hindu epic {{wpl|Mahabharata||,}} it was created by {{wpl|Brahma}} (the creator of everything). They used to be closely guarded secrets of the {{wpl|Brahmin}} [[caste]] only taught to the upper-castes (priests and princes).<ref>https://www.ancient.eu/The_Vedas/</ref>

You should probably resist the urge to say "Darth" in front of the name.

There are four main Vedic texts:
* {{wpl|Rigveda}} (ऋग्वेद, R̥gvēda)
* {{wpl|Yajurveda}} (यजुर्वेद, Yajurvēda)
* {{wpl|Samaveda}} (सामवेद, Sāmavēda)
* {{wpl|Atharvaveda}} (अथर्ववेद, Atharvavēda) 

The Rigveda is among the first known sources of [[agnostic]] and [[humanist]] writing. The {{wpl|Nasadiya Sukta}} ([[Sanskrit]]: नासदीय सूक्त, Nāsadīya Sūkta) raises rational doubts concerning the philosophical problems with the notion of the [[Universe]] being created.{{cn}}

The Yajurveda, also known as the Karmaveda (कर्मवेद, Karmavēda), contains mantras dealing with the nature and motivation behind human action and common religious sacrifices and rituals during the period it was written.

The Samaveda contains numerous religious hymns and music that mantras contained in the Rigveda are meant to be set to. It is said that Indian classical music has its roots in this text.

The Atharvaveda mainly consists of [[magic]]al chants and remedies and a small number of [[curse]]s to be used against enemies.<ref>http://www.enlightengroup.org/the-four-vedas.html</ref>

Each of the 4 Vedas consists of 4 subdivisions:
* {{wpl|Samhita}} (संहिता, Saṁhitā)
* {{wpl|Aranyaka}} (आरण्यक, Āraṇyaka)
* {{wpl|Brahmana}} (ब्राह्मणम्, Brāhmaṇam)
* {{wpl|Upanishads}} (उपनिषद्, Upaniṣad)

Samhita contains prayers in the form of hymns and mantras addressed to various gods, intended to be chanted to the gods in the same rhythm.

Aranyaka consists of text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices, etc.

Brahmana provides commentary on the said rituals.

The Upanishads offer philosophical narratives and dialogues with the gods above. They remain one of the most read and best-known portions of the Vedas.

==Smriti==
'''Smritis''' ([[Sanskrit]]: स्मृति, Smr̥ti; lit. "which is remembered") came just after Shrutis. These works are often attributed to an author and are written down. They are deemed to be less authoritative than Shrutis, but are well known, if not more known than the Shrutis, nonetheless.

These include the two surviving epics, {{wpl|Mahabharata}}{{efn|Of which includes the {{wpl|Bhagavad Gita||;}} though technically a Smriti, the Gita is given as much importance as a Shruti, due to its direct revelation from God (i.e., [[Krishna]]), making it a concise summary of the whole Vedic knowledge.}} and {{wpl|Ramayana}}{{efn|Although they often are a category of their own, called {{wpl|Itihasa-Purana}} (इतिहास पुराण, Itihāsa-Purāṇa); they're not a subset of the {{wpl|Puranas}} (पुराण, Purāṇa).}} which are some of the longest poems in human literature, the many {{wpl|Puranas}} ([[Sanskrit]]: पुराण, Purāṇa), and the many {{wpl|Shastras}} ([[Sanskrit]]: शास्त्र, Śāstra), which refer to texts on several fields of knowledge such as law, [[Yoga]], dance and theatrics, music, poetry, sexuality, etc.

==See also==
* [[Hinduism]]
* {{wpa|Shrutis}}

* {{wpa|Smritis}}

* {{wpa|Vedas}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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[[Category:Hinduism]]

Categories: Lists, Hinduism