Types of Hindu Scriptures

The important scriptures of Hinduism can be divided into two major categories. They are Sruti that which is heard or seen, and Smriti that which is remembered.

Sruti: These scriptures are considered as the revealed and canonical scriptures. Sruti is more important and authoritative because it was written based on the personal experience of rishis. The scriptures which come under this type are Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita is present in Mahabharata which is classified into Smriti type. Since Bhagavad Gita came from the mouth of Krishna, it is authoritative and called Sruti.

Smriti: These scriptures are the collection of earlier happenings and hence they do not have primary authority. Sutras, Codes of Law, Agamas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Darshanas and Puranas come under this category, which are semi-canonical and not revealed.

The important scriptures of Hinduism can be divided into two major categories. They are Sruti that which is heard or seen, and Smriti that which is remembered.

1) Important Hindu Scriptures

• Vedas: These are the record of development of the religions of the Aryans and they are dated between 1500 and 500 BC. The Vedas are the collection of sacred hymns praising Vedic gods. Rig Veda is the oldest of the four Vedas. The four Vedas are:

Rig-Veda – a book of praise.

Sama-Veda – hymns for a priest to chant during a sacrifice.

Yajur-Veda – liturgies for priest to chant. 

Atharva-Veda – blessings and spells to avoid troubles.

Each Veda consist of four parts. They are Mantras (Praise of god), Brahmanas (the guide concerning sacrifices), Aranyakas (the philosophies of rishis) and Upanishads (the philosophical teaching). The Vedas are divided into four parts to suit the four stages of the life of man.

Mantras– for Brahmacharya

Brahmanas – for Grihastha

Aranyakas – for Vanaprastha

Upanishads – for Sannyasin

• Upanishads: Upanishad means sitting down near someone to learn. These are the practical portions of Vedas, written after the Vedas by around 800 BC. The twelve important Upanishads are Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Chandogya, Brihandaranyaka, Kausitaki and Svetasvatara. They teach that Brahman is one, Brahman is real, and Brahman is nirguna. Brahman cannot be compared with anything and Brahman is beyond description. It teaches about Karma, Samsara and Moksha.

• The Kalpa Sutras: These are the literature produced after the period of Vedas and Brahmanas. They deal with sacrifices and social customs and practices. Kalpa means ‘ritual’ or ‘ceremonial’ and Sutra means thread or clue. So it is a manual of rituals in the form of sutras. Like a thread, the sutras are short and extremely brief and concise. 

The sutras are divided into two main divisions. The first division is called as Srauta Sutras which deals with sacrifices and the second division is Dharma Sutras dealing with social and legal customs. Sutras are very important to know about the history of Hinduism, because they provide brief, accurate and systematic information about sacrifices and history. They also portray clearly the social customs and practices of those days. 

• The Ithihasas: The two great epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, are called as the ithihasas. Ramayana is a long poem of 24,000 couplets, which deals with the story of Rama and his wife Sita. It was written by Valmiki in Sanskrit.

Mahabharata is twice as long as Ramayana, and it is the story of the conflict between the Kauravas and the Pandavas.

Bhagavad Gita is a section of Mahabharata and it is the discussion between Krishna and Arjuna, one of the Pandava princes.

• The Puranas: These are similar, to Ithihasas written to teach Hinduism and produce religious devotion through myths, stories, legends and chronicles of great national events. Purana means ‘Old Story’ and the stories of Puranas are very popular among children and others. 

There are 18 main puranas and about the same number of subsidiary puranas. The most important and popular purana is Bhagavata purana.It gives the various incarnations of Vishnu. Puranas introduced and popularised the Hindu teachings among the people of our country.

The Hindu gods

The Gods of the Vedic period:

Agni, Indra and Varuna are the three important gods portrayed in the Vedic period with many other gods and goddesses.  

1. Agni is the god of fire and sacrifice, who is the life-force of nature. Rig Veda says that Agni restores life to all beings and he is the source of life.
2. Indra is the sky-god, and god of war. He is described as the conqueror of sun and overcomer of the dragon that tried to stop the flow of the waters. His wife is called as Indrani. 
3. Varuna is the most powerful Vedic god, and he is the upholder of the cosmic order. He is described as having the power to punish the wicked and reward the righteous.The three important gods of the later period:

• Brahma: He is the creator of everything and the lord of all creatures. The consort of Brahma is Sarasvati, the goddess of knowledge, learning and truth. Brahma is above all things and he cannot be worshipped. So there is no temple to worship him. He is often portrayed with four faces and four arms, in which he holds the four Vedas. 

• Vishnu: He is the preserver of all things and controller of the fate of human beings. He is portrayed as a kind god, who took ten incarnations to help the mankind. His wife is Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune and beauty.

• Shiva: He is the destroyer of all things including life. He is the source of both good and evil. The Lingam is his symbol, and he is identified with fertility and procreation. The female partner of Shiva is Kali or Durga, who is the symbol of judgement and death. She is called as the ‘great mother’.