Presentation on Hindu texts

1. HINDU
SCRIPTURES
"Hindu Scriptures - an overview" by Rajendrakumar
dABEE, Mahatma Gandhi Institute is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

2. Categorization
Hindu scriptures can be broadly categorized into
two
Śruti - revealed – applies to Vedas and related
literature
Smṛti - remembered – applies to all non-vedic
religious literature
"Hindu Scriptures - an overview" by Rajendrakumar
dABEE, Mahatma Gandhi Institute is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

3. Śruti: From śru
V e d a – F r o m r o o t v i d t o k n o w – C o m p o s e d i n a n c i e n t a r c h a i c S a n s k r i t - A p a u r u ṣ e y a
– F o u r C a t e g o r i e s – b a s e d o n t h e m e t e r i t i s c h a n t e d
– Ṛ k : - Ṛ c a s m e t e r
– O l d e s t w i t h 1 0 , 6 0 0 v e r s e s d i v i d e d i n t o 1 , 0 2 8 h y m s
– S ā m a : C h a n t i n g S o n g s – S ā m a n m e t e r
– 1 5 4 9 s t a n za s
– Y a j u ḥ - f o r p e r f o r m i n g s a c r i f i c e s - Y a j u ṣ m e t e r
– W h i t e : A r r a n g e d
– B l a c k : U n a r r a n g e d
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"Hindu Scriptures - an
overvie w " by Rajendrak um ar dABEE, Mahatm a
Gandhi Institute is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

4. Atharva – Atharva and Aṅgirasa
– Atharva – Atharva and Aṅgirasa
– 760 hymns
– Later accepted
– Contains magic rituals
– Last three trace much of their material to the Ṛg Veda
– Sometimes the denotation 5th Veda is used for some texts
– Four Sections
– Based on Content
– Mantra – verses or Saṁhitā – collection of mantras and sūktas
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"Hindu Scriptures - an overview" by Rajendrakumar
dABEE, Mahatma Gandhi Institute is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

5. Sections of the Vedas
– Brāhmaṇa – Ritualistic liturgy
– Āraṅyaka – – Symbolism behind Rituals
– Upaniṣad – – Philosophy and Spirituality
– Later classified as
– Work/Ritual portion or Karma Kāṅḍa
– Knowledge portion or Jñāna Kāṇḍa
– Upaveda: applied knowledge/Secondary Vedas
– Āyurveda - medicine
– Dhanurveda - archery
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"Hindu Scriptures - an overview" by Rajendrakumar
dABEE, Mahatma Gandhi Institute is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

6. Upavedas
– Gandharvaveda – music and sacred dance
– Sthāpatyaveda – architecture
– Arthaśāstra
Vedāṅga : Literally “Limbs of the Vedas”
– Sikṣā: phonetics/phonology – science of correct articulation of Vedic
recitations taking into consideration the letters, accent, stress, melody,
intonations and rules of euphonic combination of words
– Vyākaraṇa: grammar to understand the exact meaning of the words
– Chanda: Prosody – study of poetic meter based on number of syllables
per verse and morae per verse
– Nirukta: Etymology – explanation of words that are old
– Jyotiṣa: Science that studies movement of heavenly bodies
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" H i n d u S c r i p t u r e s - a n o v e r v i e w " b y R a j e n d r a k u m a r
d A B E E , M a h a t m a G a n d h i I n s t i t u t e i s l i c e n s e d
u n d e r C C B Y - S A 4 . 0

7. Ritualistic texts
– Kalpa Ritualistic methodology
– Śrauta: From Śruti – For rituals
– Śulba – Mathematics and geometrics
– Smārta: From Smṛti
– Gṛhya – Household Rituals – Saṁskāras
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8. Smṛti – from smar – to remember
Manu – Laws of Manu
Yajñavalkya
Parāśara
Itihāsa - History
– Rāmāyaṇa – Kāvya or poetry
– Mahābhārata – History and Genealogy
– Bhagavadgītā – The Lord’s Song
Purāṇa – ancient/old – myths, legends, other traditional lore –
named after major Hindu deities – deals with cosmogony,
cosmology, genealogies of gods, goddesses, kings, heroes,
sages, and demigods, folk tales, pilgrimages, temples,
medicine, astronomy, grammar, mineralogy, humor, love
stories, as well as theology and philosophy – 400,000 verses
– Five Characteristics
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" H i n d u S c r i p t u r e s - a n o v e r v i e w " b y R a j e n d r a k u m a r d A B E E , M a h a t m a G a n d h i I n s t i t u t e i s
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9. Purāṇa
Smṛti – from smar – to remember
– Sarga: cosmogony
– Pratisarga: cosmogony and cosmology
– Vamśa: genealogy of the gods, sages
and kings
– Manvañtara: cosmic cycles, history of
the world during the time of one patriarch
– Vaṁśānucaritam: legends during the
times of various kings
– A few Purāṇas, such as the most
popular Bhāgavata Purāṇa, add five more
characteristics to expand this list to ten
– Utaya: karmic links between the
deities, sages, kings and the various
living beings
– Īśānukatha: tales about a god
– Nirodha: finale, cessation
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"Hindu Scriptures - an overview" by Rajendrakumar
dABEE, Mahatma Gandhi Institute is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

10. Purāṇa
– Mukti: moksha, spiritual liberation
– Āśraya: refuge
– Mahāpurāṇa – 18:Agni, Bhāgavata, Brahma, Brahmānda,
Brahmvaivarta, Garuḍa, Kūrma, Liṅga, Mākandeya, Matsya,
Nārada, Padma, Śiva, Skanda, Vāmana, Varāha, Vāyu and
Viṣṇu
– Skanda: largest: 81000 verses
– Variously classified
– according to deity
– according to Guṅas – sattva, Rajas and Tamas
– Upapurāṇa: also 18
– Other Upapurāṇas
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" H i n d u S c r i p t u r e s - a n
o v e r v i e w " b y R a j e n d r a k u m a r
d A B E E , M a h a t m a G a n d h i
I n s t i t u t e i s l i c e n s e d
u n d e r C C B Y - S A 4 . 0

11. Darśana
Smṛti – from smar – to remember
– Sthula-Tamil Śiva Temples
Darśana
– Nyāya - Gautama
– Vaiśeṣika - Kaṇāda
– Sāṅkhya - Kapila
– Yoga - Patañjali
– Mīmāṁsā
– Purva Mīmāṁsā - Jaimini
– Uttara Mīmāṁsā or Vedānta - Bādarāyaṇa
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" H i n d u S c r i p t u r e s - a n o v e r v i e w " b y R a j e n d r a k u m a r d A B E E , M a h a t m a G a n d h i I n s t i t u t e i s
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12. Śāstra
Smṛti – from smar – to remember
– Dvaita - Madhva
– Advaita - Śaṅkara
– Viśiṣṭādvaita - Rāmānuja
Śāstra: Science - based on the four goals of life
– Dharma – religious, social, personal ethics - includes smṛti
– Artha – economics, politics and law – Chanakya’s Arthaśāstra,
Kamandakiya Nitisāra, Vidura niti, etc
– Kāma – Vātsyāyana Kāma-sūtra, Ratirahasya, Jayamangala,
Ananga Ranga, etc
– Mokṣa – nature and process of liberation or release form
Saṁsāra - later Upaniṣads, Philsophical texts, Bhagavadgītā
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13. Āgamas
Āgama - devotional texts – ‘that
which has come down’ as
Tradition – not necessarily Vedic
or Smṛti
Vaiśnava – 277 Āgamas
Śaiva – 28 Āgamas
Śākta – aka Tantras – 64 Āgamas
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This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND.
"Hindu Scriptures - an overview" by Rajendrakumar
dABEE, Mahatma Gandhi Institute is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0