Hindu texts or Hindu scriptures are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. Some of the major Hindu texts include the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Itihasa (the Mahabharata and the Ramayana) and the Puranas. Scholars hesitate to define the term "Hindu scriptures" given the diverse nature of Hinduism,Dominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, , p. ix–xliii but many list the Agamas as Hindu scriptures,Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism: Third Edition, State University of New York Press, , pp. 46–52, 76–77RC Zaehner (1992), Hindu Scriptures, Penguin Random House, , pages 1–11 and Preface and Dominic Goodall includes the Bhagavata Purana and Yajnavalkya Smriti in the list of Hindu scriptures as well.
History There are two historic classifications of Hindu texts: Shruti (Sanskrit: श्रुति, )—"that which is heard", and Smriti (Sanskrit: स्मृति, IAST: Smṛti)—"that which is remembered".
The Shruti texts refer to the body of most authoritative and ancient religious texts, believed to be eternal knowledge authored neither by a human nor a divine agent, but transmitted by sages (rishis). These texts comprise the central canon of Hinduism.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Shruti", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing. , page 645 This canon includes the four Vedas with their four types of embedded texts: the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads.Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (1988), Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism, Manchester University Press, , pp. 2–3 Of the Shrutis, the Upanishads alone are widely influential among Hindus, considered scriptures par excellence of Hinduism, and their central ideas have continued to influence its thought and traditions.Wendy Doniger (1990), Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism, 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , pp. 2–3; Quote: "The Upanishads supply the basis of later Hindu philosophy; they alone of the Vedic corpus are widely known and quoted by most well-educated Hindus, and their central ideas have also become a part of the spiritual arsenal of rank-and-file Hindus."
The Smriti texts are a specific body of Hindu texts attributed to an author; as derivative works they are considered less authoritative than Shruti in Hinduism.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Smrti", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing, , pp. 656–657 The Smriti literature is a vast corpus of diverse texts, and includes but is not limited to Vedāngas, the Hindu epics (such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana), the Sutras and Shastras, the texts of Hindu philosophies, the Puranas, the Kāvya or poetical literature, the Bhasyas, and numerous Nibandhas (digests) covering politics, ethics, culture, arts, and society.Purushottama Bilimoria (2011), The idea of Hindu law, Journal of Oriental Society of Australia, Vol. 43, pp. 103–130Roy Perrett (1998), Hindu Ethics: A Philosophical Study, University of Hawaii Press, , pp. 16–18
Many ancient Hindu texts were composed in Sanskrit and other regional Indian languages. In modern times, most ancient texts have been translated into other Indian languages and some into non-Indian languages. Prior to the start of the Common Era, the Hindu texts were composed orally, then memorized and transmitted orally, from one generation to the next, for more than a millennium before they were written down in manuscripts.Michael Witzel, "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood, Gavin, ed. (2003), The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., , pp. 68–71 This verbal tradition of preserving and transmitting Hindu texts, from one generation to the next, continued into the modern era.William Graham (1993), Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion, Cambridge University Press, , pp. 67–77
Shruti The Shruti texts, defined as "that which is heard", are texts that are believed to be divine revelations of God and were heard by ancient rishis thousands of years ago. Thus, an author is not attributed to these texts.Roger R. Keller, "Hinduism," Light and Truth: A Latter-day Saint Guide to World Religions (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012), 16–39. The origin language of these texts is Sanskrit. The Vedas are considered Shruti texts. The Vedas consist of four parts: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda. Each Veda is subcategorized into Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads.
Vedas
The four Vedas (Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda) are a large body of Hindu texts originating from the Vedic period in northern India, the Rig Veda being composed , and its Samhita and Brahmanas complete before about 800 BCE. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit hymns, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.see e.g. ; Sanskrit literature (2003) in Philip's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2007-08-09see e.g. ; Witzel, Michael, "Vedas and ", in: ; ; Sanskrit literature (2003) in Philip's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2007-08-09Sanujit Ghose (2011). "Religious Developments in Ancient India" in Ancient History Encyclopedia. Hindus consider the Vedas to be timeless revelation, apauruṣeya, which means "not of a man, superhuman"Vaman Shivaram Apte, The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, see apauruSeya and "impersonal, authorless".D Sharma, Classical Indian Philosophy: A Reader, Columbia University Press, pp. 196–197Jan Westerhoff (2009), Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka: A Philosophical Introduction, Oxford University Press, , page 290Warren Lee Todd (2013), The Ethics of Śaṅkara and Śāntideva: A Selfless Response to an Illusory World, , p. 128 The knowledge in the Vedas is believed in Hinduism to be eternal, uncreated, neither authored by human nor by divine source, but seen, heard and transmitted by sages.
Vedas are also called shruti ("what is heard") literature, distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called ("what is remembered"). The Vedas, for orthodox Indian theologians, are considered revelations, some way or other the work of the Deity. In the Hindu Epic the Mahabharata, the creation of Vedas is credited to the deity responsible for creation, Brahma.Seer of the Fifth Veda: Kr̥ṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa in the Mahābhārata Bruce M. Sullivan, Motilal Banarsidass, pp. 85–86
Each of the four VedasBloomfield, M. The Atharvaveda and the Gopatha-Brahmana, (Grundriss der Indo-Arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde II.1.b.) Strassburg 1899; Gonda, J. A history of Indian literature: I.1 Vedic literature (Samhitas and Brahmanas); I.2 The Ritual Sutras. Wiesbaden 1975, 1977 have been subclassified into four major text types:
the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads (text discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, , pages 35–39A Bhattacharya (2006), Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology, , pp. 8–14; George M. Williams (2003), Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, , page 285Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic Literature: (Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas), Otto Harrassowitz Verlag,
Upanishads
The Upanishads are a collection of Hindu texts which contain the central philosophical concepts of Hinduism. The Upanishads are the foundation of Hindu philosophical thought and its diverse traditions.Wiman Dissanayake (1993), Self as Body in Asian Theory and Practice (Editors: Thomas P. Kasulis et al.), State University of New York Press, , p. 39; Quote: "The Upanishads form the foundations of Hindu philosophical thought and the central theme of the Upanishads is the identity of Atman and Brahman, or the inner self and the cosmic self.";Michael McDowell and Nathan Brown (2009), World Religions, Penguin, , pp. 208–210
The Upanishads are commonly referred to as Vedānta, interpreted to mean either the "last chapters, parts of the Veda" or "the object, the highest purpose of the Veda".Max Muller, The Upanishads, Part 1, Oxford University Press, page LXXXVI footnote 1 The concepts of Brahman (Ultimate Reality) and Ātman (Soul, Self) are central ideas in all the Upanishads, and "Know your Ātman" their thematic focus.PT Raju (1985), Structural Depths of Indian Thought, State University of New York Press, , pp. 35–36 The central ideas of the Upanishads have had a lasting influence on Hindu philosophy.
More than 200 Upanishads are known, of which ten are the oldest and most important and are referred to as the mukhya (main) or principal Upanishads.Stephen Phillips (2009), Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy, Columbia University Press, , Chapter 1E Easwaran (2007), The Upanishads, , pp. 298–299 The ten mukhya Upanishads are: Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, and Brihadaranyaka. The mukhya Upanishads are found mostly in the concluding part of the Brahmanas and Aranyakas and were, for centuries, memorized by each generation and passed down verbally. The early Upanishads all predate the Common Era, some in all likelihood pre-Buddhist (6th century BCE), down to the Maurya period. Of the remainder, some 95 Upanishads are part of the Muktika canon, composed from about the start of common era through medieval Hinduism. New Upanishads, beyond the 108 in the Muktika canon, continued being composed through the early modern and modern era, though often dealing with subjects unconnected to Hinduism.
Smriti
Smriti is the classification of literature which includes various scriptures and Itihasas (epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata), Harivamsa Puranas, Agamas and Darshanas. This genre of texts includes the Sutras and Shastras of the six schools of Hindu philosophy: Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson (2013), Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History, Columbia University Press, , pp. 2–5Karl Potter (1991), Presuppositions of India's Philosophies, Motilal Banarsidass,
The Sutras and Shastras texts were compilations of technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area. The earliest are dated to the latter half of the 1st millennium BCE. These include the Dharmashastras (law books), which are derivatives of the Dharmasutras. The Dharmasutras are part of the larger group of ritual texts known as Kalpasutras, which contain the Shrautasutras (texts on Vedic rituals), and Grhyasutras (texts on domestic rituals). Other examples are bhautikashastra "physics", rasayanashastra "chemistry", jīvashastra "biology", vastushastra "architectural science", shilpashastra "science of sculpture", arthashastra "economics" and nītishastra "political science".Jan Gonda (1970 through 1987), A History of Indian Literature, Volumes 1 to 7, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, This group of texts also includes Tantras and Agama literature.Teun Goudriaan and Sanjukta Gupta (1981), Hindu Tantric and Śākta Literature, A History of Indian Literature, Volume 2, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, , pp. 7–14
Puranas