The document summarizes Hindu scriptures and texts. It describes the Vedas as the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, consisting of the Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. It also outlines other important Hindu scriptures such as the Upanishads, Puranas, Itihasa epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and shastras on topics like dharma, artha, kamasutra and yoga. The Vedas are considered divine revelations and have been orally transmitted for thousands of years with elaborate memorization techniques to preserve the sacred sounds and mantras.

1. Hindu scriptures and texts
 Shruti
 Smriti
 List
Vedas
 Rigveda
 Samaveda
 Yajurveda
 Atharvaveda
Divisions
 Samhita
 Brahmana
 Aranyaka
 Upanishads
Upanishads
Rig vedic
 Aitareya
 Kaushitaki
Sama vedic
 Chandogya
 Kena
Yajur vedic
 Brihadaranyaka

2.  Isha
 Taittiriya
 Katha
 Shvetashvatara
 Maitri
Atharva vedic
 Mundaka
 Mandukya
 Prashna
Other scriptures
 Bhagavad Gita
 Agamas
Related Hindu texts
Vedangas
 Shiksha
 Chandas
 Vyakarana
 Nirukta
 Kalpa
 Jyotisha
Puranas
Brahma puranas
 Brahma
 Brahmānda
 Brahmavaivarta
 Markandeya
 Bhavishya
Vaishnava puranas
 Vishnu
 Bhagavata
 Naradiya
 Garuda

3.  Padma
 Vamana
 Varaha Purana
 Kurma
 Matsya
Shaiva puranas
 Shiva
 Linga
 Skanda
 Vayu
 Agni
Shakta puranas
 Devi Bhagavata
Itihasa
 Ramayana
o Historicity
 Mahabharata
o Historicity
Sangam Literature
 Saiva Tirumurai
 Divya Prabandham
 Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai
 Thiruppugazh
 Tirukkuṟaḷ
 Kamba Ramayanam
 Five Great Epics
 Eighteen Greater Texts
 Eighteen Lesser Texts
 Aathichoodi
 Iraiyanar Akapporul
 Abhirami Anthadhi
 Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam
 Vinayagar Agaval

4. Shastras and Sutras
 Dharma Shastra
 Artha Shastra
 Kamasutra
 Brahma Sutras
 Samkhya Sutras
 Mimamsa Sutras
 Nyāya Sūtras
 Vaiśeṣika Sūtra
 Yoga Sutras
 Pramana Sutras
 Charaka Samhita
 Sushruta Samhita
 Natya Shastra
 Vastu Shastra
 Panchatantra
 Divya Prabandha
 Tirumurai
 Ramcharitmanas
 Yoga Vasistha
 Swara yoga
 Shiva Samhita
 Gheranda Samhita
 Panchadasi
 Vedantasara
 Stotra
The Vedas (/ˈveɪdəz/,[4]
IAST: veda, Sanskrit: वेदः, lit. 'knowledge') are a large body of religious
texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer
of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.[5][6][7]
There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda.[8][9]
Each
Veda has four subdivisions – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas (text on
rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals,
ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads(texts discussing meditation, philosophy and
spiritual knowledge).[8][10][11]
Some scholars add a fifth category – the Upasanas (worship).[12][13]
The
texts of the Upanishads discuss ideas akin to the heterodox sramana-traditions.[14]
Vedas are śruti ("what is heard"),[15]
distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are
called smṛti ("what is remembered"). Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeya, which means

5. "not of a man, superhuman"[16]
and "impersonal, authorless,"[17][18][19]
revelations of sacred sounds and
texts heard by ancient sages after intense meditation.[20][21]
The Vedas have been orally transmitted since the 2nd millennium BCE with the help of
elaborate mnemonic techniques.[22][23][24]
The mantras, the oldest part of the Vedas, are recited in the
modern age for their phonology rather than the semantics, and are considered to be "primordial
rhythms of creation", preceding the forms to which they refer.[25]
By reciting them the cosmos is
regenerated, "by enlivening and nourishing the forms of creation at their base."[25]
The various Indian philosophies and Hindu denominations have taken differing positions on the
Vedas; schools of Indian philosophy which acknowledge the primal authority of the Vedas are
classified as "orthodox" (āstika).[note 2]
Other śramaṇa traditions, such
as Charvaka, Ajivika, Buddhism and Jainism, which did not regard the Vedas as authorities, are
referred to as "heterodox" or "non-orthodox" (nāstika) schools.[14][26]