Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism. The law books regard more than fifty minor sins in hinduism such as selling the wife, making salt, studying forbidden shastras, killing a woman, marrying the. Ashtadasa vidya 18 types of sasthras are said mainly. Mar 26, 2014 hinduisms canon it is often said of hinduism that, unlike the abrahamic religions, it is not a religion of the book.
Scholars hesitate in defining the term hindu scripture given the diverse nature of hinduism, 2 3 many include. In hindu dharma the vedas,upanishads,6 vedangas,smritisor the dharma shastras,puranas and the itihasasramayana and mahabhartha are usually together called the shastras or scriptures. Studying our holy books ix the hindu personal law in india is largely derived from the mitakshara commentary on the yajnavalkya smriti, in view of its great popularity in large parts of india during the last few centuries. Hinduism, major world religion originating on the indian subcontinent and comprising several and varied systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual. Hinduism, is open to interpretation, and is a collection of a path to wisdom, which is based on reasoning more than a divine authority and does not have any specific founder. Hinduism is also known by the names sanatanadharmaand vaidikadharma. Of these some called sruti are broadly considered as core scriptures of hinduism, but beyond the sruti. The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. Online books on hinduism, hindu religion, hindu culture, shastras, hindu scripture, vedas, upanishad, hindu saints, sages, science and hinduism. The vedas and these other works are further divided into two sections. Today, hinduism is a global religion with adherents living on every continent, and comprising majorities in three countries. Six technical subjects related to the vedas are traditionally known as veda. Vedas four, vedangas six, purana, meemansa, nyaya, dharma shasthras, ayurveda, dhanurveda. If the indus valley civilization 3rd2nd millennium bce was the earliest source of hindu traditions, then hinduism is the oldest living religion on earth.
These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus. 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. Jun 07, 2008 all hindus know that some books are considered holy by everyone, and not every book written by every author becomes holy. Sruti scriptures are considered divinely inspired and fully authoritative for belief and practice, while smruti are recognized as the products of the minds of the great sages. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism are stories and epic poems. Mar 17, 2015 the sacred texts of hinduism fall into one of two categories. The word is generally used as a suffix in the indian literature context, for technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice shastra has a similar meaning to english logy, e. A hindu monasterytemple complex in hawaii of the tamil saivite tradition, home to two dozen monks, pilgrimage destination for sincere devotees, highly respected producer of contemporary, worldclass, hindu religious publications. This literary form was designed for concision, as the texts were intended to be memorized by students in some of the formal methods of scriptural and scientific study sanskrit. Hinduism part 6 download books, sacred, spiritual texts. The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. The shastras originated with an oral tradition passed down verbally over countless millennial. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu.
Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions within hinduism. Various seals and artifacts found at indus valley civilization harappa civilization prove that the practices of harappa. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. Hinduismthe vedas wikibooks, open books for an open world. Kanad was a sixth century scientist of vaisheshika school, one of the six systems of indian philosophy. The word is generally used as a suffix in the indian literature context, for technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice. In sanskrit, the original language of india, sanatana means everlasting and dharma, means religion. The four vedas the rig veda, the sama veda, the yajur veda and the atharva veda are the authentic texts of hinduism and are comprised of hymns, incantations, rituals and the importance of practicing them in daily life. The sacred texts of hinduism fall into one of two categories. Shaktism, the worship of shakti, the active power of the godhead conceived in feminine terms. Shastra saastr is a sanskrit term meaning code, rules, or treatise, and refers to vedic scriptures, which includes 14 to 18 sacred books of hindu philosophy considered in hinduism to be of sacred authority. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. He was a great scholar, a capable ruler and a maestro of the veena. The smriti literature is a vast corpus of diverse texts, and includes but is not limited to vedangas, the hindu epics, the sutras and shastras, the texts of hindu philosophies, the puranas, the kavya or poetical literature, the bhasyas, and numerous nibandhas digests covering politics, ethics, culture, arts and society.
Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata. Hinduisms canon it is often said of hinduism that, unlike the abrahamic religions, it is not a religion of the book. Hinduism philosophical texts although the details of indian philosophy, as it has been developed by professional philosophers, may be treated as a subject separate from hinduism see indian philosophy, certain broad philosophical concepts were absorbed into the myths and rituals of hindus and are best viewed as a component of the religious tradition. The bhagavadgita, the song of god, is the bestknown hindu scripture in the world. All hindus know that some books are considered holy by everyone, and not every book written by every author becomes holy. The goal, which all vedas declare, which all austerities aim at, and which humans desire when they live a life of continence, i will tell you briefly it is aum 1. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata, and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation, etc. Kanad was a sixth century scientist of vaisheshika school, one of the six. More than being completely erroneous, this is an uninformed canard that implicitly suggests, hinduisms true place is more in line with paganism than. Hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma. Guided by the founder, satguru sivaya subramuniyaswami, the magazines editors, who are initiated monks of the kauais hindu monastery, collaborated with holy men and women and experts around the world in creating graphically rich guides to virtually. They got their present form between 1200200 bce and were introduced to india by the aryans. Hinduism is also an indigenous religion made up of a diverse family of philosophies and traditions that have been practiced primarily throughout asia for thousands of years. While as books of great antiquity they may not they may not throw much light on the ancient history of hinduism, it is difficult to ignore their contribution to the gradual evolution of hinduism into of the most popular religions of the world.
Indian shastras and scriptures in the field of science. Forming two chapters of the mahabharata, it is a spiritual treatise spoken by krishna to arjuna as they sat on a chariot between two armies poised for battle blind king dhritarashtra, sitting in his palace, was worried as to how the proposed battlesite, kurukshetra. If the indus valley civilization 3rd2nd millennium bce was the earliest source of hindu. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. The institutes of vishnu sbe 7 julius jolly, translator 1880 sacred books of the east, vol. Hindu website, hinduism, buddhism, jainism, sikhism. Hinduism is practised by more than 80% of indias population. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. Sep 14, 2011 here at the hinduism section of, we aim at presenting the original works that lay the foundations of hinduism. Vedic scriptures and its revelation on sikhism news.
Among them, the vedassrutis,of course,are considered as having the supreme authority. Eventually transcribed into texts, the written shastras have for centuries. Vedas four, vedangas six, purana, meemansa, nyaya, dharma shasthras, ayurveda, dhanurveda, gandharva veda and ardha economics sasthras. The law books regard more than fifty minor sins in hinduism such as selling the wife, making salt, studying forbidden shastras, killing a woman, marrying the younger son before marrying the elder. The six traditional philosophies of hinduism itihaas itihaas means history itithis.
Today, hinduism is a global religion with adherents living on every. Without them and the two great epics, hinduism would not have attained this status. Nov 30, 2017 numerous rishis and scholars have acquired the knowledge of vedas and have discovered and invented many things and have written many books in various fields of sciences. Hinduism a brief overview of the development of hinduism. The vedas are a large body of hindu texts originating in ancient india, with its samhita and brahmanas complete before about 800 bce. Hinduism is not born of the teachings of particular prophets. Most of our domestic and temple rituals are derived from tantric teachings. Popular hinduism books showing 150 of 2,628 the bhagavad gita paperback by. There are 18 main dharma shastras and the most important ones belong to. Apr 03, 20 the puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. There is something called pramana, authority, which our acharyas have recognised, and as per the acharyas a set of books are considered primary texts, whereas, other books based on these primary books can also be referred to. Hinduism part 8 download books, sacred, spiritual texts.
A few texts are shared resources across these traditions and broadly considered as hindu scriptures. In hinduism sutra denotes a distinct type of literary composition, based on short aphoristic statements, generally using various technical terms. While we have the main vedas, upanishads, the mahabharata in several translations we also present newer commentaries, anthologies, and entirely new branches of hinduism. Since 1979 the international magazine hinduism today has been producing a treasury of educational features on all aspects of sanatana dharma. The four parts of the vedas have significance and relevance to the four stages ashramas of human life, namely brahmacharya, grihastashrama, vanaprastha and sanyasashrama respectively. Tales of divine dreams my diary and jibankrishna or diamond the holy ghost chapter 48 0 chapters updated may, 2015 06. Hinduism philosophical texts students britannica kids. Shaktism, the worship of shakti, the active power of the godhead conceived in feminine terms, should be distinguished from tantrism, the search for spiritual power and ultimate release by means of the repetition of sacred syllables and phrases. Ravan demon king of lanka was a devout follower of lord shiva. The rigveda is a collection of hymns dedicated to 33 gods especially to indri and agni.
Hinduism is an ancient religion with diverse traditions such as vaishnavism, shaivism, shaktism and others. There are 18 main dharma shastras and the most important ones belong. However, smruti texts often carry almost as much authority as sruti. Numerous rishis and scholars have acquired the knowledge of vedas and have discovered and invented many things and have written many books in various fields of sciences. Online books on hinduism, hindu religion, hindu culture. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. His ten heads represent his knowledge of the six shastras and the four vedas. Toward the end of the 5th century, the cult of the mother goddess assumed a significant place in indian religious life. It is not based on a set of dogmas preached by a particular set of teachers. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. Tantras or agamas have had a profound impact on the way hinduism is practiced in our daily lives.
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