Hindu Scriptures at a Glance
By: Godavari Senior Students
(Religion)
Hindu Scriptures - At a Glance
• All Hindu Scriptures Originated from
“Vedas”.
• Dating: To ‘Sindhu’ civilization > 3000BC).
• Revealed (by GOD) or “Apurusheya”.
• Over 90,000 slokas or mantras.
• Written in Sanskrit
• Passed on through verbal chanting over
generations.
Hindu Scriptures - At a Glance
• Vedas
–Vedangas
–Upavedas
• Upanishads
• Puranas
• Itihaas
• Gita
• Acharyas
Vedas
Vedas
• Author - Ved Vyas
• Basis for Hindu religion
Samhitas
• Compilations
Brahmanas
• Prose that discusses Rituals.
Aranyakas
• Forest treatises discussing
Rituals
Vedas
Rig Veda
Hymns about Gods Indra,
Varuna and Agni.
Yajur Veda
Mantras on Rituals, Sacrifices
and Yagnas
Sama Veda
Hymns and Songs for Pooja
and music.
Artharva Veda Mantras about Healing,
Marriage and Death.
Vedangas
Vedanga’s
• Preserve, and protect Vedic traditions over
generations without getting corrupted.
• Authors (19): Famous ones are
– Panini, Yaska, Katyayana, Brithruhari and
Patanjali.
• Time Scale: 200BC – 800BC.
Vedanga’s
• Vedangas help in understanding Vedas
• Siksha,
• Chhanda,
• Vyakarana
• Nirukuta,
• Jyotisha
• Kalpa
Vedanga’s
Siksha
Chandas
Vyakarna
Nirukuta
Pronunciation of words and syllables
Meter used in Vedic hymns
Sanskrit Grammar
Explanations of difficult words in the
vedas (Dictionary or ‘Nighantu’).
Jyothisya The astrological and astronomical
aspects of auspicious times
Kalpa
Explains the aspects that deal with
Pooja and associated rituals
UpaVedas
UpaVedas
• These compositions, each are attached to one of the
four main Vedas (Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva
respectively).
• Four Upavedas
• Artha Veda - Science of economics and sociology
• Dhanur Veda - Science of defense, war and
politics
• Gandharva Veda - Art of music, dancing and
singing
• Ayur Veda – Science of Plants and Medicine.
UpaVedas
• Authors
• Artha Veda - Sage Brihaspathi .
• Dhanur Veda - Sage Brighu
• Gandharva Veda – Muni Bharata
• Ayur Veda – Sage Dhanvantri
Upanishads
Upanishads
• Philosophical Texts
• Authors: Many Sages:
• Yajnavalkya
• Uddalaka Aruni,
• Aitareya,
• Manu,
• Brihaspati
• Narada.
• Approximate Dating: 800 and 400BC
Upanishads
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Chandogya
Keno
Isa
Titreya
Aitareya
Mundaka
Mandukya
Prashna
Puranas
Puranas
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Purana (Sanskrit)- “of ancient times”
Narrative of the history of the universe:
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Creation and Destruction
Genealogies of the kings
Heroes and Demigods
Cosmology and Geograhpy
Thousands of years of history
Puranas
• Veda Vyasa
• Before 500 BCE
• Written 3rd-5th century
AD
• 18 accepted puranas
Puranas
• Brahma Puranas:
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Brahma Purana
Brahmānda Purana
Brahma Vaivarta Purana
Mārkandeya Purana
Bhavishya Purana
• Shaiva Puranas:
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Shiva Purana
Linga Purana
Skanda Purana
Agni Purana
Vāyu Purana
• Vaisnava Puranas:
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Vishnu Purana
Bhagavata Purana
Nāradeya Purana
Garuda Purana
Padma Purana
Varaha Purana
Vāmana Purana
Kūrma Purana
Matsya Purana
Kalki Purana
Srimad Devi Bhagawatam
• Focuses on the love and
life of Krishna
• Avatars of Vishnu
• Bhakti-Union with the
Divine
• 12 books
• 18,000 verses
Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
• Gita is a conversation between Lord Krishna
and Arjuna on a battle field.
• It was written by sage Veda Vyasa.
• It was originally told and written back in 3171
BC.
• The Gita has 700 verses, and 18 chapters in all.
There are 32 syllables in each verse, 4 lines in
each verse and 8 syllables per line.
• Gita are written in Sanskrit.
Bhagavad Gita
• The Gita can be divided into 3 sections:
-Karma Yoga (the yoga of actions)
-Bhakti Yoga (the yoga of devotion)
-Jnana Yoga (the yoga of knowledge)
• The best choices to make in life are the hardest ones, and
that a person needs to fulfill their duty before anything
else.
• Lord Krishna told Arjuna that, as a prince, it was Arjuna’s
duty to fight the evil (that his cousins represented) and
defend the righteous, in a war.
Itihās
Itihās
(Translation: “Historical
Event”)
Authors:
• Valmiki - Ramayana.
• Vyasa - Mahabharat
Time Scale:
• 500 BC
Itihās
Ramayana
About King Rama. Depicts the duties of relationships,
portrays ideal characters like the ideal servant, the ideal
brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king. Conflict
between righteous and evil paths and their consequences.
Mahabharat
About Kauravas and Pandavas.
Exemplifies the four "goals of life" or purusharthas.
• Dharma (right action)
• Artha (purpose)
• Kama (pleasure)
• Moksha (liberation)
Acharyas
Neha Devaravar
And
Ruhy Patel
Acharyas
• Acharya -guide or instructor in
religious matters
• Also used to address teacher or
scholar
• A common suffix in
Brahmin/Viswakarma names
• Many involved in teaching vedic
texts and traditions.
Acharyas
• Adi Shankaracharya (780 AD)
Adi Shankara's Bhashyas (commentaries) on the
Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, Advita
Vedanta and Brahma Sutras are his principal
works.
• Ramanujacharya (1017AD)
Ramanuja may have written 9 books. They are
also referred to as the nine precious gems, the
Navarathnas.
• Madhvacharya (1238AD)
The 8 monasteries (Ashta mathas) of Udupi have
been following his philosophy since then. He
proposed ‘Dvaitha’ siddantam.