Hindu texts

The Mahābhārata ( ; , , ) is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics of Hinduism known as the Itihasas, the other being the Ramayana. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas. It contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or puruṣārtha (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the Mahābhārata are the Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, Shakuntala, Pururava and

The Ramayana (; ), also known as the Valmiki Ramayana, as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics of Hinduism known as the Itihasas, the other being the Mahabharata. The epic narrates the life of Rama, the seventh avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who was a prince of Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across the forests in the Indian subcontinent wi

primary holy scripture for Hinduism

thumb|upright=1.2|The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the Atharvaveda.

The Rigveda or Rig Veda (, , from ऋच्, "praise" and वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (sūktas). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (śruti) known as the Vedas. Only one Shakha of the many survive today, namely the Śakalya Shakha. Much of the contents contained in the remaining Shakhas are now lost or are not available in the public forum.

The Upanishads (; , , ) are Sanskrit texts of the late Vedic and post-Vedic periods that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hinduism. They are the most recent addition to the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, and deal with meditation, philosophy, consciousness, and ontological knowledge. Earlier parts of the Vedas dealt with mantras, benedictions, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices.

Puranas () are a vast genre of Hindu literature that include a wide range of topics, especially legends and other traditional lore. The Puranas are known for the intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories. Composed originally in Sanskrit and in other South Asian languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu deities such as Devi, Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma. The Puranic genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism.

The Atharvaveda or Atharva Veda (, , from अथर्वन्, "priest" and वेद, "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of atharvans, the procedures for everyday life". The text is the fourth Veda, and is a late addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism.

The Samaveda or Sama Veda (, , from सामन्, "song" and वेद, "knowledge"), 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.

The Yajurveda (, , from यजुस्, "worship", and वेद, "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals. An ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, it is a compilation of ritual-offering formulas that were said by a priest while an individual performed ritual actions such as those before the yajña fire. Yajurveda is one of the four Vedas, and one of the scriptures of Hinduism. The exact century of the Yajurveda's composition is unknown, and estimated by Witzel to be between 1200 and 800 BCE, contemporaneous with Sāmaveda and Atharvaveda.

Sanskrit text, most popular of the eighteen major Puranas, story of Krishna

'''''Kautilya's Arthashastra''' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of Arthashastras, texts which according to Olivelle date from the 2nd c. BCE to the 1st c. CE. These earlier treatises were compiled and amended in a new treatise, according to McClish and Olivelle in the 1st century CE by either an anonymous author or Kautilya, though earlier and later dates have also been proposed. While often regarded as created by a single author

foundational text of Yoga in Sanskrit from ancient India by Patanjali

Sanskrit text on the performing arts

thumb|upright=1.25|A page of the Jaiminiya Aranyaka Gana found embedded in the Samaveda palm leaf manuscript (Sanskrit, Grantha script).

thumb|upright=1.25|A 17th-century manuscript page of Sadvimsha Brahmana, a Pañcaviṃśa-Brāhmaṇa supplement (Sanskrit, Devanagari). It is found embedded in the Samaveda. The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , IAST: Brāhmaṇam) are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within each Veda, which explain and instruct on the performance of Vedic rituals (in which the related Samhitas are recited). In addition to explaining the symbolism and meaning of the Samhitas, Brahmana

''''' (, , ), also spelled or ''''', is a body of Hindu texts representing the remembered, written tradition in Hinduism, rooted in or inspired by the Vedas. works are generally attributed to a named author and were transmitted through manuscripts, in contrast to Vedic or literature, which is based on a fixed text with no specific author, and preserved through oral transmission. are derivative, secondary works and considered less authoritative than in Hinduism, except in the Mīmāmsa school of Hindu philosophy. The authority of accepted by orthodox schools is derived from that of , on which it

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Śruti or shruti (, , ) in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" and refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism. Manusmriti states: Śrutistu vedo vijñeyaḥ (Devanagari: श्रुतिस्तु वेदो विज्ञेयः) meaning, "Know that Vedas are Śruti". Thus, it includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts—the Samhitas, the Upanishads, the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas.

Samhita (IAST: Saṃhitā) literally means "put together, joined, union", a "collection", and "a methodical, 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.

15th-century Sanskrit manual on haṭha yoga

poem by Jayadeva

Dharmaśāstra () are Sanskrit Puranic Smriti texts on law and conduct, and refer to treatises (śāstras) on Dharma. Like the Dharmasūtras which are based upon the Vedas, these texts are also elaborate law commentaries based on the Vedas, and evolved from Dharmasutras. There are many Dharmaśāstras, variously estimated to number from 18 to over 100. Each of these texts exists in many different versions, and each is rooted in Dharmasutra texts dated to the 1st millennium BCE that emerged from Kalpa (Vedanga) studies in the Vedic era.

historic literature of Hinduism

Ancient Sanskrit text on medicine

sushruta samhita is an ancient sanskrit text on medicine

Ramcharitmanas (), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1511–1623). It has many inspirations, the primary being the Ramayana of Valmiki.

Hindu religious text (c. 550 CE)

text with a philosophical foundation similar to Advaita Vedanta

thumb|320px|18th century Harivaṁśa manuscript in Devanāgari script

thumb|right|300px|Nagarakretagama palm-leaf manuscript. The Nagarakretagama or Nagarakṛtāgama (), also known in Bali as Desawarnana or Deśavarṇana (), is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a kakawin by Mpu Prapanca in 1365 (1287 Saka year). The Nagarakretagama contains detailed descriptions of the Majapahit Empire during its greatest extent. The poem affirms the importance of Hindu–Buddhism in the Majapahit empire by describing temples and palaces and several ceremonial observances.

hymn

Vedic era study of ritual procedures and ceremonies, one of six Vedangas practiced by Brahmins

category of Hindu religious texts

hatha yoga text of Hinduism

Cilappatikāram (, ), also referred to as Silappathikaram or Silappatikaram, is the earliest Tamil epic. It is a poem of 5,730 lines in almost entirely akaval (aciriyam) meter. The epic is a tragic love story of an ordinary couple, Kaṇṇaki and her husband Kōvalaṉ. The Cilappatikāram has more ancient roots in the Tamil bardic tradition, as Kannaki and other characters of the story are mentioned or alluded to in the Sangam literature such as in the Natṟiṇai and later texts such as the Kovalam Katai. It is attributed to a prince-turned-jain-monk Iḷaṅkō Aṭikaḷ, and was probably composed in the 5th

Advaita Vedanta Scripture; Sanatana Dharma text

fifth chapter in Ramayan

Araṇya-Kāṇḍa, or The Forest Episode, is the third book of the epic poem of Ramayana. It is also found in the Rāmcharitmānas. It follows the legend of Rama through his fourteen-year exile in the forest, joined by his wife and his brother. Rama overcomes challenges and demons by upholding standards of behavior. Nearing the end of his exile, Rama's wife Sita is kidnapped by the king Ravana, and Rama learns what happened. The story continues in the next book, Kiśkindhā Kāṇḍa.

hatha yoga text of Hinduism

In Indian literature, Kāma-Śāstra (कामशास्त्र ), refers to the tradition of works about kāma (broadly desire; particularly love, erotic, sensual and sexual desire in this case). Kāma-shastra aims to instruct the townsman (nāgarika) in the attainment of enjoyment and fulfillment.

The Ratirahasya (Sanskrit ) (translated in English as Secrets of Love, also known as the Koka Shastra) is an early medieval Kashmiri sex manual written by Kokkoka, a poet, who is variously described as Koka or Koka Pandit. The exact date of its writing is not known, but it is estimated the text was written in the 11th or 12th century. It is speculated that Ratirahasya was written to please a king by the name Venudutta. Kokkoka describes himself in the book as siddha patiya pandita, i.e. "an ingenious man among learned men". The manual was written in Sanskrit.

14 verses organizing the phonemes of Sanskrit by Pāṇini: a i u ṇ / ṛ ḷ k / e o ṅ / ai au c / ha ya va ra ṭ / la ṇ / ña ma ṅa ṇa na m / jha bha ñ / gha ḍha dha ṣ / ja ba ga ḍa da ś / kha pha cha ṭha tha ca ṭa ta v / ka pa y / śa ṣa sa r / ha l

Sanskrit text

The Upapuranas (Sanskrit: '') are a genre of Hindu religious texts consisting of many compilations differentiated from the Mahapuranas by styling them as secondary Puranas using the prefix Upa (secondary). Though only a few of these compilations originated earlier than most of the extant Mahapuranas'', some of these texts are extensive and important.

The Vivekachudamani () is a philosophical treatise within the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism, traditionally attributed to the Vedāntic philosopher Adi Shankara, though this attribution has been questioned and mostly rejected by modern scholarship. It is in the form of a poem in the Shardula Vikridita metre.

thumb|512px|Balinese [[palm-leaf manuscript of the Arjunawiwāha kakawin.]]

Chanakyaniti is a collection of Sanskrit-language aphorisms traditionally ascribed to Chanakya. Its first European translation was in Greek in the 19th century.

Sanskrit stotra composed by Adi Shankara

Sanskrit musicological text

ancient umbrella term for numerous Hindu texts

ancient collection of Indian poems

The Narayaniyam () is a medieval-era Sanskrit text, comprising a summary study in poetic form of the Bhagavata Purana. It was composed by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, a celebrated Sanskrit poet of Kerala. Even though the Narayaniyam is believed to be composed as early as 1585 CE, the earliest available manuscripts came only after more than 250 years. The Bhagavata Purana is a major Hindu scripture consisting of about 18,000 verses, mainly devoted to the worship of Krishna. The work contains detailed descriptions of Guruvayurappan, a regional form of Krishna, and the temple town of Guruvayur

Subset of Bhagavata Purana

Nitisara () or the Nitisara of Kamandaki, is an ancient Indian treatise on politics and statecraft. It was authored by Kamandaka, also known as Kamandaki or Kamandakiya, traditionally identified as a disciple of Vishnugupta (Kautilya). It is traditionally dated to the 4th-3rd century BCE, though modern scholarship variously dates it to between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE between Gupta and Harsha period and its in fact a recension based on Sukra Nitisara of 4th century BCE. It contains 19 sections. The work has been dedicated to Chandragupta of Pataliputra.

Balinese palm-leaf manuscript

versions of the Indian epic poem

The Shikshashtakam (IAST: ) is a 16th-century Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu prayer of eight verses composed in the Sanskrit language. They are the only verses left personally written by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486 – 1534) with the majority of his philosophy being codified by his primary disciples, known as the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan. The Shikshashtakam is quoted within the Chaitanya Charitamrita, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami's biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, written in Bengali. The name of the prayer comes from the Sanskrit words '''', meaning 'instruction', and aṣṭaka, meaning 'consisting of e

Odia text of social commentary

thumb|upright=1.25| The Jnanesvari is a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. Above: Pages 1 and 2 in Devanagari script, Marathi language.