List of Hindu texts

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Hinduism is an ancient religion, with denominations such as Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, among others. [1] [2] Each tradition has a long list of Hindu texts, with subgenre based on syncretization of ideas from Samkhya, Nyaya, Yoga, Vedanta and other schools of Hindu philosophy. [3] [4] [5] Of these some called Sruti are broadly considered as core scriptures of Hinduism, but beyond the Sruti, the list of scriptures vary by the scholar. [6]

Contents

Several lists include only the Vedas, the Principal Upanishads, the Agamas and the Bhagavad Gita as scriptures broadly accepted by Hindus. [6] [7] Goodall adds regional texts such as Bhagavata Purana and Yajnavalkya Smriti to the list. [6] Beyond the Sruti, Hindu texts include Smritis, Shastras, Sutras, Tantras, Puranas, Itihasas, Stotras, Subhashitas and others. [8] [9]

Most of these texts exist in Sanskrit, [10] [11] and Old Tamil, and also later in other Indic languages. In modern times, most have been translated into other Indian languages and some in Western languages. [12] [13] This list includes major Hindu texts, along with the Hindu scriptures.

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Samhita literally means "put together, joined, union", a "collection", and "a methodically, rule-based combination of text or verses". Saṃhitā also refers to the most ancient layer of text in the Vedas, consisting of mantras, hymns, prayers, litanies and benedictions.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vedas</span> Oldest scriptures of Hinduism

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The Isha Upanishad, also known as Shri Ishopanishad, Ishavasya Upanishad, or Vajasaneyi Samhita Upanishad, is one of the shortest Upanishads, embedded as the final chapter (adhyāya) of the Shukla Yajurveda. It is a Mukhya Upanishad, and is known in two recensions, called Kanva (VSK) and Madhyandina (VSM). The Upanishad is a brief poem, consisting of 17 or 18 verses, depending on the recension.

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The following list consists of notable concepts that are derived from Hindu culture and associated cultures’ traditions, which are expressed as words in Sanskrit or other Indic languages and Dravidian languages. The main purpose of this list is to disambiguate multiple spellings, to make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts, to define the concept in one or two lines, to make it easy for one to find and pin down specific concepts, and to provide a guide to unique concepts of Hinduism all in one place.

Principal Upanishads, also known as Mukhya Upanishads, are the most ancient and widely studied Upanishads of Hinduism. Composed between 800 BCE to the start of common era, these texts are connected to the Vedic tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dhyana in Hinduism</span>

Dhyāna in Hinduism means meditation and contemplation. Dhyana is taken up in Yoga practices, and is a means to samadhi and self-knowledge.

<i>Svādhyāya</i> Term of self study

Svādhyāya is a Sanskrit term which means self-study and especially the recitation of the Vedas and other sacred texts. It is also a broader concept with several meanings. In various schools of Hinduism, Svadhyaya is a Niyama connoting introspection and "study of self".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaishnavism</span> Major Hindu tradition that reveres Vishnu as the Supreme Being

Vaishnavism is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, Mahavishnu. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or Vaishnavas, and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 641 million or 67.6% of Hindus.

The notion of a fifth Veda, that is, of a text which lies outside the four canonical Vedas, but nonetheless has the status of a Veda, is one that has been advanced in a number of post-Vedic Hindu texts, in order to accord a particular text or texts and their doctrines with the timelessness and authority that Hinduism associates with the Vedas. The idea is an ancient one, appearing for the first time in the Upanishads, but has over the centuries since then also been applied to more recent Sanskrit and vernacular texts.

<i>Devi Bhagavata Purana</i> Goddess-centric Hindu text

The Devi Bhagavata Purana, also known as the Devi Purana or simply Devi Bhagavatam, is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas as per Shiva Purana of Hinduism. Composed in Sanskrit by Veda Vyasa, the text is considered a major purana for Devi worshippers (Shaktas). It promotes bhakti (devotion) towards Mahadevi, integrating themes from the Shaktadvaitavada tradition. While this is generally regarded as a Shakta Purana, some scholars such as Dowson have also interpreted this Purana as a Shaiva Purana.

Hindu scriptures are traditionally classified into two parts: śruti, meaning "what has been heard" and Smriti, meaning "what has been retained or remembered". The Vedas are classified under śruti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samaveda</span> Veda of melodies and chants

The Samaveda, is the Veda of melodies and chants. It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and is one of the sacred scriptures in Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text which consists of 1,875 verses. All but 75 verses have been taken from the Rigveda. Three recensions of the Samaveda have survived, and variant manuscripts of the Veda have been found in various parts of India.

In Hinduism, Śāstra pramāṇam refers to the authority of the scriptures with regard to puruṣārtha, the objects of human pursuit, namely dharma, artha, kāma (pleasure) and mokṣa (liberation). Together with smṛti, ācāra, and ātmatuṣṭi, it provides pramana and sources of dharma, as expressed in Classical Hindu law, philosophy, rituals and customs.

References

  1. Flood 1996, pp. 113, 154.
  2. Michaels 2004, pp. 21–23.
  3. Mikel Burley (2012), Classical Samkhya and Yoga - An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN   978-0415648875, page 39-41;
    Lloyd Pflueger, Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut Jacobsen), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN   978-8120832329, pages 38-39
  4. Knut Jacobsen (2008), Theory and Practice of Yoga : 'Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN   978-8120832329, pages 77-78;
    Isaeva, Natalia (1993). Shankara and Indian Philosophy . State University of New York Press. pp.  79–80. ISBN   978-0-7914-1281-7.;
    Natalia Isaeva (1995). From Early Vedanta to Kashmir Shaivism: Gaudapada, Bhartrhari, and Abhinavagupta. State University of New York Press. pp. 137, 163, 171–178. ISBN   978-1-4384-0761-6.;
    C. J. Bartley (2013). The Theology of Ramanuja: Realism and Religion. Routledge. pp. 1–4, 52–53, 79. ISBN   978-1-136-85306-7.
  5. Matthew Clarke (2011). Development and Religion: Theology and Practice. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 28. ISBN   9780857930736.
  6. 1 2 3 Dominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, ISBN   978-0520207783, page ix-xi, xx-xxi
  7. RC Zaehner (1992), Hindu Scriptures, Penguin Random House, ISBN   978-0679410782, pages 1-11 and Preface
  8. Ludo Rocher (1986), The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN   978-3-447-02522-5
  9. Moriz Winternitz (1996). A History of Indian Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. xv–xvi. ISBN   978-81-208-0264-3.
  10. "Indian languages and the classical status".
  11. "Why is Sanskrit so controversial?". BBC News. 12 August 2014.
  12. Sargeant, Winthrop, Introduction to The Bhagavad Gita at 3 (New York, 1984) ISBN   0-87395-831-4
  13. Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: A New Translation Vol. I, at 3 (5th Ed. 1990) ISBN   0-911206-15-9
  14. "Arya-Sidhantha". Sankalp India FOundation.
  15. Swarupananda, Swami (1909). "Foreword". Bhagavad Gita. Advaita Ashrama. pp. i–ii.
  16. Patrick Olivelle (2014), The Early Upanisads, Oxford University Press, ISBN   978-0195352429, page 3; Quote: "Even though theoretically the whole of vedic corpus is accepted as revealed truth [shruti], in reality it is the Upanishads that have continued to influence the life and thought of the various religious traditions that we have come to call Hindu. Upanishads are the scriptures par excellence of Hinduism".
  17. Wendy Doniger (1990), Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism, 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, ISBN   978-0226618470, pages 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."
  18. Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Vol III. 118–120; Vol. I. 6–7.

Bibliography