Hindu texts are
manuscripts and historic literature related to any of the diverse traditions
within Hinduism.
A few texts are shared resources across these traditions and broadly considered
as Hindu scriptures. These include the Vedas and the Upanishads.
Scholars hesitate in defining the term "Hindu scripture" given the
diverse nature of Hinduism, many include Bhagavad Gita and Agamas as Hindu scriptures, while Dominic
Goodall includes Bhagavata Purana and Yajnavalkya Smriti to the list of Hindu
scriptures.
There are two historic
classifications of Hindu texts: Shruti
- that which is heard, and Smriti
- that which is remembered. The Sruti refers to the body of most
authoritative, ancient religious texts,
without any author, comprising the central canon of Hinduism.
It includes the four Vedas including
its four types of embedded texts - the Samhitas,
the Brahmanas,
the Aranyakas and
the early Upanishads. Of the Shrutis (Vedic corpus), the
Upanishads alone are widely influential among Hindus, considered scriptures par
excellence of Hinduism, and their central ideas have continued to influence its
thoughts and traditions.
The Smriti texts
are a specific body of Hindu texts attributed to an author, as a derivative
work they are considered less authoritative than Sruti in Hinduism. The
Smrti literature is a vast corpus of diverse texts, and includes but is not
limited to Vedāngas,
the Hindu epics, 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.
Many ancient and medieval
Hindu texts were composed in Sanskrit,
many others in regional Indian languages. In modern times, most ancient texts
have been translated into other Indian languages and some in Western
languages. Prior to the start of the common era, the Hindu texts were
composed orally, then memorized and transmitted orally, from one generation to
next, for more than a millennia before they were written down into manuscripts. This
verbal tradition of preserving and transmitting Hindu texts, from one
generation to next, continued into the modern era.
The
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body
of Hindu texts originating in ancient India,
before about 300 BCE. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit,
the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest
scriptures of Hinduism. Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeya,
which means "not of a man, superhuman" and "impersonal,
authorless".
Vedas are also called Sruti ("what
is heard") literature, distinguishing them from other religious
texts, which are called Smriti ("what is remembered"). The
Veda, 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 Brahma.
There are four Vedas: the Rigveda,
the Yajurveda,
the Samaveda and
the Atharvaveda. Each
Veda has 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).
The
Upanishads
The Upanishads are a
collection of Hindu texts which contain some of the central philosophical
concepts of Hinduism.
The Upanishads are commonly
referred to as Vedānta, variously interpreted to mean either the "last
chapters, parts of the Veda"
or "the object, the highest purpose of the Veda". The concepts
of Brahman (Ultimate
Reality) and Ātman (Soul, Self) are central ideas in
all the Upanishads, and
"Know your Ātman" their thematic focus. The Upanishads are the
foundation of Hindu philosophical thought and its diverse traditions. Of
the Vedic corpus, they alone are widely known, and the central ideas of the
Upanishads have had a lasting influence on Hindu philosophy.
More than 200 Upanishads are
known, of which the first dozen or so are the oldest and most important and are
referred to as the principal or main (mukhya)
Upanishads. 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 to being composed through the early modern
and modern era, though often dealing with subjects unconnected to Hinduism.
Post-Vedic
texts
A 19th century manuscript of
the Hindu text Bhagavad Gita
The texts that appeared
afterwards were called smriti.
Smriti literature includes various Shastras and Itihasas (epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata), Harivamsa Puranas, Agamas and Darshanas.
The Sutras and Shastras
texts were compilations of technical or specialized knowledge in a defined
area. The earliest are dated to later half of the 1st millennium BCE. The Dharma-shastras (law
books), derivatives of the Dharma-sutras.
The Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita is a
700–verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata.
This scripture contains a conversation between Pandava prince
Arjuna and
his guide Krishna on a variety of philosophical issues. Commentators see the
setting of the Gita in a battlefield as an allegory for the ethical and moral
struggles of the human life. The Bhagavad Gita's call for selfless action
inspired many leaders of the Indian independence movement including Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who referred
to the Gita as his "spiritual dictionary". Numerous commentaries have
been written on the Bhagavad Gita with widely differing views on the
essentials, beginning with Adi Sankara's
commentary on the Gita in the 8th century CE.
The
Puranas
The Puranas are a vast genre
of Hindu texts that encyclopedically cover a wide range of topics, particularly
myths, legends and other traditional lore. Composed primarily in Sanskrit,
but also in regional languages, several of these texts are named after
major Hindu deities
such as Vishnu, Shiva and Devi.
There are 18 Maha
Puranas (Great Puranas) and 18 Upa Puranas (Minor Puranas),[49] with
over 400,000 verses. The Puranas do not enjoy the authority of a scripture
in Hinduism, but are considered a Smriti. These
Hindu texts have been influential in the Hindu culture,
inspiring major national and regional annual festivals of Hinduism. The Bhagavata Purana has
been among the most celebrated and popular text in the Puranic genre.
The
Tevaram Saivite hymns
The Tevaram is
a body of remarkable hymns exuding Bhakti composed more than 1400–1200 years
ago in the classical Tamil language by three Saivite composers. They are
credited with igniting the Bhakti movement in the whole of India.
Divya
Prabandha Vaishnavite hymns
The Nalayira Divya Prabandha (or Nalayira
(4000) Divya Prabhamdham) is a divine collection of 4,000 verses (Naalayira in
Tamil means 'four thousand') composed before 8th century AD, by the 12 Alvars,
and was compiled in its present form by Nathamuni during the 9th – 10th
centuries. The Alvars sung these songs at various sacred shrines. These shrines
are known as the Divya Desams.
In South India, especially
in Tamil Nadu, the Divya Prabhandha is considered as equal to the Vedas, hence
the epithet Dravida Veda. In many temples, Srirangam, for example, the chanting
of the Divya Prabhandham forms a major part of the daily service. Prominent
among the 4,000 verses are the 1,100+ verses known as the Thiru Vaaymozhi,
composed by Nammalvar (Kaaril Maaran Sadagopan) of Thiruk Kurugoor.
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