The name and organisation of the main scriptures in the Sanatana Dharma.

(Hinduism)

Read about it, a few days back hence felt like sharing with you all.

Consider sharing your thoughts and insights on it, if you have any.

[A THREAD]

1. The Vedas

Veda Samhitas (ritual performance) the texts with highest authority in Hinduism.

These are considered to be the oldest literature in the world that are still in existence.

They were believed to be composed before 1500 BC, are 432,000 syllables long and were completely passed through oral tradition.

They are poems that glorify nature, delve into the human mind and explore the human connection to nature.

They are further subdivided into 4 groups:

1) Rig Veda (the core essence of Vedic rituals)

2) Yajur Veda (manual for performing rituals)

3) Sama Veda (a sweet melody used for a specific type of "fun" ritual - Somayajna) and,

4) Atharvana Veda (scientific elements of rituals)

It is believed to have contained higher level scientific references that are now lost.

2. Brahmanas (ritual commentaries)

These are the commentaries to Vedas and are often esoteric & profound.

The Brahmanas attempt to make the religion organized by talking about the superior quality of Veda rituals.

They also defined various stages of human life and delved into the purpose of human existence and so on.

3. Aranyakas (wilderness experiments)

These are experiments in wilderness that our sages did 3000+ years ago.

The rituals they attempted were considered dangerous to experiment and hence the wilderness location.

These included the massive fire experiment of Agnicayana

Some of the successful experiments got codified into our modern exercises such as"Surya Namaskar" - "Sun worship with yogic exercises"

4. Vedangas (pedagogy)

These are studies that help in proper utilization of the Vedas.

These included studies on how Vedas have to be recited, taught and also included studies on astrology and phonetics.

5. Upavedas (sciences)

These are applied knolwedge of Vedas that accompanied the holy texts.

These included Ayurveda (a medicinal science still in use), Dhanurveda (archery science), Shastrasastra (military science) and Gandharveda (science of music and dance).

6. Upanishads (philosophy)

These are studies on philosophical and scientific elements of the universe.

These are the Hindu texts that have received the greatest attention among non-Hindus.

There are 108 of them and one of the most important of them is Prashna Upanishad

7. Bhagavad Gita (the "Bible")

This is the Hindu equivalent of the Bible and is a study of morality and human conduct.

For most modern Hindus, study of the Gita is enough to attain highest form of religious learning.

8. Ithihasas (historical/mythical events)

The study of Ramayana (the king Rama who stands for truth and wins over evil -- similiar to Illiad by Homer) and Mahabharata (a deep novel that teaches Hindus morality and pragmatism).

Itihasas in Sanskrit means, the story or the epic in whcih the author himself was a participant.

Like Veda Vyasa compiled the Mahabharata, and he also was a character in the great epic.

9. Puranas (mythology & theology)

These are a group of 18 mythical texts that introduces Hindus to various theological concepts such as hell & heaven, major gods and various tales of good over evil.

Currently one of the most utilized scriptures among the religious.

Finally there are obviously texts like the Arthashastras, Chanakya Neeti and many more.

But, the above mentioned were the most famous and known to the world as of today.

The dates mentioned might not be the same as it actually would have been, but the information is all I read on the Wikipedia and on various places over the internet.

Thank You for reading, I hope it added some value in your knowledge.

Namaskaram!

[End of Thread]

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@awareness_being
@KrishnaDharma
@iam__prashanth
@warriorfocused
@Thenakedpoet2
@thescorpionphil