Hindu texts

2022-03-17T00:35:04Z

50.24.18.16:

{{short description|Historic literature of Hinduism}}
{{Hindu scriptures}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}
'''Hindu texts''' are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within [[Hinduism]]. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures.<ref>Frazier, Jessica (2011), The Continuum companion to Hindu studies, London: Continuum, {{ISBN|978-0-8264-9966-0}}, pages 1–15</ref><ref name=goodallix/> These include the [[Puranas]], [[Itihasa]] and [[Vedas]]. Scholars hesitate in defining the term "Hindu scriptures" given the diverse nature of [[Hinduism]],<ref name=goodallix>Dominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0-520-20778-3}}, page ix-xliii</ref><ref name=klausscrip/> but many list the [[Bhagavad Gita]] and the [[Āgama (Hinduism)|Agamas]] as Hindu scriptures,<ref name=goodallix/><ref name=klausscrip>Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism: Third Edition, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-7082-4}}, pages 46–52, 76–77</ref><ref>RC Zaehner (1992), Hindu Scriptures, Penguin Random House, {{ISBN|978-0-679-41078-2}}, pages 1–11 and Preface</ref> and Dominic Goodall includes [[Bhagavata Purana]] and [[Yajnavalkya Smriti]] in the list of Hindu scriptures as well.<ref name=goodallix/>

==History==
There are two historic classifications of [[Hindu]] texts: ''[[Shruti]]'' – that which is heard,<ref name=jamessruti/> and ''[[Smriti]]'' – that which is remembered.<ref name=jamesmriti/> The ''Shruti'' refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient [[religious text]]s, believed to be eternal knowledge authored neither by human nor divine agent but transmitted by sages (''[[rishis]]''). These comprise the central canon of [[Hinduism]].<ref name=jamessruti>James Lochtefeld (2002), "Shruti", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-8239-3179-8}}, page 645</ref><ref name="Lamb2002p183">{{cite book|author=Ramdas Lamb|title=Rapt in the Name: The Ramnamis, Ramnam, and Untouchable Religion in Central India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dv1nxyOTgN0C&pg=PA183|year=2002|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-5386-5|pages=183–185}}</ref> It includes the four [[Vedas]] including its four types of embedded texts - the [[Samhita]]s, the [[Brahmana]]s, the [[Aranyaka]]s and the early [[Upanishads]].<ref name=wendydof>Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (1988), Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism, Manchester University Press, {{ISBN|0-7190-1867-6}}, pages 2–3</ref> Of the ''Shrutis'' (Vedic corpus), the Upanishads alone are widely influential among Hindus, considered scriptures par excellence of Hinduism, and their central ideas have continued to influence its thoughts and traditions.<ref name=olivelle96intro/><ref name=wendydonigerupan>Wendy Doniger (1990), Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism, 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|978-0-226-61847-0}}, pages 2–3; Quote: "The Upanishads supply the basis of later Hindu philosophy; they alone of the Vedic corpus are widely known and quoted by most well-educated Hindus, and their central ideas have also become a part of the spiritual arsenal of rank-and-file Hindus."</ref>

The ''Smriti'' texts are a specific body of [[Hinduism|Hindu]] texts attributed to an author,<ref name="wendydof"/> as a derivative work they are considered less authoritative than ''Shruti'' in Hinduism.<ref name=jamesmriti>James Lochtefeld (2002), "Smrti", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-8239-3179-8}}, page 656–657</ref> The Smriti literature is a vast corpus of diverse texts, and includes but is not limited to [[Vedanga|Vedāngas]], the Hindu epics, the [[Dharmasutras|Sutras and Shastras]], the texts of [[Hindu philosophy|Hindu philosophies]], the [[Puranas]], the Kāvya or poetical literature, the ''Bhasyas'', and numerous ''Nibandhas'' (digests) covering politics, ethics, culture, arts and society.<ref name=bilimoriasmrti>Purushottama Bilimoria (2011), The idea of Hindu law, Journal of Oriental Society of Australia, Vol. 43, pages 103–130</ref><ref name="Roy Perrett 1998 pages 16-18">Roy Perrett (1998), Hindu Ethics: A Philosophical Study, University of Hawaii Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8248-2085-5}}, pages 16–18</ref>

Many ancient and medieval Hindu texts were composed in [[Sanskrit]], many others in regional Indian languages. In modern times, most ancient texts have been translated into other [[Languages of India|Indian languages]] and some in non-Indian languages.<ref name=goodallix/> Prior to the start of the common era, the Hindu texts were composed orally, then memorized and transmitted orally, from one generation to next, for more than a millennia before they were written down into manuscripts.<ref name=michaelwitzel68>[[Michael Witzel]], "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood, Gavin, ed. (2003), The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., {{ISBN|1-4051-3251-5}}, pages 68–71</ref><ref name=graham67/> This verbal tradition of preserving and transmitting Hindu texts, from one generation to next, continued into the modern era.<ref name=michaelwitzel68/><ref name=graham67>William Graham (1993), Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-44820-8}}, pages 67–77</ref>

{{Quote box
|quote = '''Sanskrit manuscripts colophon'''
<poem>
जलाद्रक्षेत्तैलाद्रक्षेद्रक्षेच्छिथिलबन्धनात् |
मूर्खहस्ते न मां दद्यादिति वदति पुस्तकम् ||

'Save me from water,
protect me from oil,
and from loose binding,
And do not give me into the hands of fools!'
says the manuscript.
</poem>
|source = —''Anonymous verse frequently found at the end of Sanskrit manuscripts''<ref>[https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/sanskrit Sanskrit Manuscripts Project], A Collection, Cambridge Digital Library, University of Cambridge</ref>
|bgcolor=#FFE0BB
|align = right
}}

==Vedas==
{{Main|Vedas}}
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The Vedas are a large body of Hindu texts originating in [[Vedic period]] in northern India, the [[Rig Veda]] being composed ca. 1200 BCE, and its [[Samhita]] and [[Brahmana]]s complete before about 800 BCE.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gavin D. Flood|title=An Introduction to Hinduism|url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo |url-access=registration|year=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-43878-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/37 37]–39}}</ref> Composed in [[Vedic Sanskrit]] [[Music of India#History|hymn]]s, the texts constitute the oldest layer of [[Sanskrit literature]] and the oldest scriptures of [[Hinduism]].<ref>see e.g. {{Harvnb|MacDonell|2004|pp=29–39}}; ''Sanskrit literature'' (2003) in Philip's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2007-08-09</ref><ref>see e.g. {{Harvnb|Radhakrishnan|Moore|1957|p=3}}; Witzel, Michael, "Vedas and {{IAST|Upaniṣads}}", in: {{Harvnb|Flood|2003|p=68}}; {{Harvnb|MacDonell|2004|pp=29–39}}; ''Sanskrit literature'' (2003) in Philip's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2007-08-09</ref><ref>Sanujit Ghose (2011). "[https://www.worldhistory.org/article/230/ Religious Developments in Ancient India]" in ''Ancient History Encyclopedia''.</ref> Hindus consider the Vedas to be ''[[apauruṣeya]]'', which means "not of a man, superhuman"<ref>Vaman Shivaram Apte, [http://www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~tjun/sktdic/ ''The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary''], see apauruSeya</ref> and "impersonal, authorless".<ref>D Sharma, Classical Indian Philosophy: A Reader, Columbia University Press, pages 196–197</ref><ref>Jan Westerhoff (2009), Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka: A Philosophical Introduction, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-538496-3}}, page 290</ref><ref>Warren Lee Todd (2013), The Ethics of Śaṅkara and Śāntideva: A Selfless Response to an Illusory World, {{ISBN|978-1-4094-6681-9}}, page 128</ref> The knowledge in the Vedas is believed in Hinduism to be eternal, uncreated, neither authored by human nor by divine source, but seen, heard and transmitted by sages.<ref name="Lamb2002p183"/>

Vedas are also called ''{{IAST|[[śruti]]}}'' ("what is heard") literature,<ref>{{Harvnb|Apte|1965|p=887}}</ref> distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called ''{{IAST|[[smṛti]]}}'' ("what is remembered"). The Veda, for orthodox Indian theologians, are considered revelations, some way or other the work of the [[Deity]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Müller|1891|pp=17–18}}</ref> In the Hindu Epic the [[Mahabharata]], the creation of Vedas is credited to [[Brahma]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8XO3Im3OMi8C&pg=PA86&dq=brahma+created+vedas&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_MZUt71GMXJrAecvoCoCg&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Seer of the Fifth Veda: Kr̥ṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa in the Mahābhārata] Bruce M. Sullivan, Motilal Banarsidass, pages 85–86</ref>

There are four Vedas: the [[Rigveda]], the [[Yajurveda]], the [[Samaveda]] and the [[Atharvaveda]].<ref name=gflood/><ref>Bloomfield, M. The Atharvaveda and the Gopatha-Brahmana, (Grundriss der Indo-Arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde II.1.b.) Strassburg 1899; Gonda, J. A history of Indian literature: I.1 Vedic literature (Samhitas and Brahmanas); I.2 The Ritual Sutras. Wiesbaden 1975, 1977</ref> Each Veda has been subclassified into four major text types – the [[Samhita]]s (mantras and benedictions), the [[Aranyakas]] (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the [[Brahmanas]] (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the [[Upanishads]] (text discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).<ref name=gflood>Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-43878-0}}, pages 35–39</ref><ref name="A Bhattacharya 2006 pages 8-14">A Bhattacharya (2006), Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology, {{ISBN|978-0-595-38455-6}}, pages 8–14; George M. Williams (2003), Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-533261-2}}, page 285</ref><ref name="Jan Gonda 1975">Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic Literature: (Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas), Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-01603-2}}</ref>

==Upanishads==
{{Main|Upanishads}}
The Upanishads are a collection of Hindu texts which contain some of the central philosophical concepts of Hinduism.<ref name="olivelle96intro"/>{{refn|group=note|These include rebirth, karma, moksha, ascetic techniques and renunciation.<ref name="olivelle96intro"/>}}

The Upanishads are commonly referred to as ''[[Vedānta]]'', variously interpreted to mean either the "last chapters, parts of the [[Vedas|Veda]]" or "the object, the highest purpose of the Veda".<ref>Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/n93/mode/2up The Upanishads], Part 1, Oxford University Press, page LXXXVI footnote 1</ref> The concepts of [[Brahman]] (Ultimate Reality) and [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Ātman]] (Soul, Self) are central ideas in all the [[Upanishad]]s,{{sfn|Mahadevan|1956|p=59}}<ref name=ptraju/> and "Know your Ātman" their thematic focus.<ref name=ptraju>PT Raju (1985), Structural Depths of Indian Thought, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-88706-139-4}}, pages 35–36</ref> The Upanishads are the foundation of Hindu philosophical thought and its diverse traditions.<ref name=wendydonigerupan/><ref>Wiman Dissanayake (1993), Self as Body in Asian Theory and Practice (Editors: Thomas P. Kasulis et al.), State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-1080-6}}, page 39; '''Quote''': "The Upanishads form the foundations of Hindu philosophical thought and the central theme of the Upanishads is the identity of Atman and Brahman, or the inner self and the cosmic self."; Michael McDowell and Nathan Brown (2009), World Religions, Penguin, {{ISBN|978-1-59257-846-7}}, pages 208–210</ref> Of the Vedic corpus, they alone are widely known, and the central ideas of the Upanishads have had a lasting influence on Hindu philosophy.<ref name=olivelle96intro>{{cite q|Q108771870|page=3|quote=Even though theoretically the whole of vedic corpus is accepted as revealed truth [shruti], in reality it is the Upanishads that have continued to influence the life and thought of the various religious traditions that we have come to call Hindu. Upanishads are the scriptures par excellence of Hinduism|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/wd/WJGL2tUm6P4C?gbpv=1&pg=PR23}}.</ref><ref name=wendydonigerupan/>

More than 200 Upanishads are known, of which the first dozen or so are the oldest and most important and are referred to as the principal or main (''[[mukhya]]'') Upanishads.<ref name=stephenphillips>Stephen Phillips (2009), Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy, Columbia University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-231-14485-8}}, Chapter 1</ref><ref>E Easwaran (2007), The Upanishads, {{ISBN|978-1-58638-021-2}}, pages 298–299</ref> The ''mukhya'' Upanishads are found mostly in the concluding part of the ''[[Brahmanas]]'' and ''[[Aranyakas]]''{{sfn|Mahadevan|1956|p=56}} and were, for centuries, memorized by each generation and passed down [[oral tradition|verbally]]. The early Upanishads all predate the Common Era, some in all likelihood pre-Buddhist (6th century BCE),<ref name=olivelleintro>{{cite q|Q108772045|page=12–14|url=https://archive.org/details/TheEarlyUpanisads/page/n33/mode/2up}}</ref> down to the [[Maurya period]].{{sfn|King|Ācārya|p=52|1995}} Of the remainder, some 95 Upanishads are part of the [[Muktika]] canon, composed from about the start of common era through [[History of Hinduism|medieval Hinduism]]. New Upanishads, beyond the 108 in the Muktika canon, continued being composed through the early modern and modern era, though often dealing with subjects unconnected to Hinduism.{{sfn|Ranade|1926|p=12}}{{sfn|Varghese|2008|p=101}}

==Smriti==
The texts that appeared afterwards were called [[smriti]]. Smriti is a literature which includes various Shastras and ''Itihasa''s (epics like [[Ramayana]], [[Mahabharata]]), [[Harivamsa]] [[Puranas]], [[Āgama (Hinduism)|Agama]]s and [[Darshana]]s.

The Sutras and Shastras texts were compilations of technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area. The earliest are dated to later half of the 1st millennium BCE. The [[Dharmashastra|Dharma-shastra]]s (law books), derivatives of the [[Dharmasutras|Dharma-sutras]]. Other examples were ''bhautikashastra'' "physics", ''[[rasayana]]shastra'' "chemistry", ''jīvashastra'' "biology", ''[[Vastu shastra|vastushastra]]'' "architectural science", ''[[Shilpa Shastras|shilpashastra]]'' "science of sculpture", ''arthashastra'' "economics" and ''nītishastra'' "political science".<ref>Jan Gonda (1970 through 1987), A History of Indian Literature, Volumes 1 to 7, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-02676-5}}</ref> It also includes [[Tantras]] and [[Āgama (Hinduism)|Agama]] literature.<ref>Teun Goudriaan and Sanjukta Gupta (1981), Hindu Tantric and Śākta Literature, A History of Indian Literature, Volume 2, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-02091-6}}, pages 7–14</ref>

[[File:Bhagavad Gita, a 19th century manuscript.jpg|thumb|A 19th century manuscript of the Hindu text [[Bhagavad Gita]]]]
This genre of texts includes the Sutras and Shastras of the six schools of [[Hindu philosophy]]: [[Samkhya]], Yoga, [[Nyaya]], Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and [[Vedanta]].<ref>Andrew Nicholson (2013), Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History, Columbia University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-231-14987-7}}, pages 2–5</ref><ref>Karl Potter (1991), Presuppositions of India's Philosophies, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0779-2}}</ref>

==Puranas==
{{Main|Puranas}}
The Puranas are a vast genre of Hindu texts that encyclopedically cover a wide range of topics, particularly legends and other traditional lore.<ref name="oliverleaman437">Greg Bailey (2001), Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy (Editor: Oliver Leaman), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-17281-3}}, pages 437–439</ref> Composed primarily in Sanskrit, but also in regional languages,<ref name="johncort185">John Cort (1993), Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts (Editor: Wendy Doniger), State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-1382-1}}, pages 185–204</ref><ref name="gregorybailey">Gregory Bailey (2003), The Study of Hinduism (Editor: Arvind Sharma), The University of South Carolina Press, {{ISBN|978-1-57003-449-7}}, page 139</ref> several of these texts are named after major [[Hindu]] deities such as Lord [[Vishnu]], Lord [[Shiva]] and Goddess [[Devi]].<ref name="ludorocher">Ludo Rocher (1986), The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-02522-5}}, pages 1–5, 12–21</ref><ref name="Nair 2008 266">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ekehXVP3W8wC&pg=PA266|title=Echoes of Ancient Indian Wisdom: The Universal Hindu Vision and Its Edifice|last=Nair|first=Shantha N.|publisher=Hindology Books|year=2008|isbn=978-81-223-1020-7|page=266}}</ref>

The Puranic literature is encyclopedic,<ref name=merriam>Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, {{ISBN|0-877790426}}, page 915</ref> and it includes diverse topics such as [[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.<ref name=oliverleaman437/><ref name=gregorybailey/><ref name=ludorocher/> The content is diverse across the Puranas, and each Purana has survived in numerous manuscripts which are themselves voluminous and comprehensive. The Hindu Puranas are anonymous texts and likely the work of many authors over the centuries; in contrast, most Jaina Puranas can be dated and their authors assigned.<ref name=johncort185/>

There are 18 ''Maha Puranas'' (Great Puranas) and 18 ''Upa Puranas'' (Minor Puranas),<ref name="corneliadimmitt4">Cornelia Dimmitt (2015), Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas, Temple University Press, {{ISBN|978-81-208-3972-4}}, page xii, 4</ref> with over 400,000 verses.<ref name="oliverleaman437" /> The Puranas do not enjoy the authority of a scripture in Hinduism,<ref name="corneliadimmitt4" /> but are considered a [[Smriti]].<ref>Greg Bailey (2001), Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy (Editor: Oliver Leaman), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-17281-3}}, page 503</ref> These Hindu texts have been influential in the [[Hindu culture]], inspiring major national and regional annual festivals of Hinduism.<ref>Ludo Rocher (1986), The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-02522-5}}, pages 12–13, 134–156, 203–210</ref> The [[Bhagavata Purana]] has been among the most celebrated and popular text in the Puranic genre.<ref>Dominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0-520-20778-3}}, page xli</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TZmDSr-1msC&pg=PA10|title=The Cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana 'Mysteries of the Sacred Universe|last=Thompson|first=Richard L.|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|year=2007|isbn=978-81-208-1919-1|page=10}}</ref>

==Other Hindu texts==
Hindu texts for specific fields, in Sanskrit and other regional languages, have been reviewed as follows:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Field !! Reviewer !! Reference
|-
|Agriculture and food || Gyula Wojtilla || <ref>Gyula Wojtilla (2006), History of Kr̥ṣiśāstra, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-05306-8}}</ref>
|-
|Architecture || P Acharya, [[Bruno Dagens|B Dagens]] ||<ref>PK Acharya (1946), [https://archive.org/stream/encyclopaediaofh07achauoft#page/n9/mode/2up An Encyclopedia of Hindu Architecture], Oxford University Press, Also see Volumes 1 to 6</ref><ref>[[Bruno Dagens]] (1995), MAYAMATA : An Indian Treatise on Housing Architecture and Iconography, {{ISBN|978-81-208-3525-2}}</ref>
|-
|Devotionalism || Karen Pechelis ||<ref>Karen Pechelis (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-535190-3}}</ref>
|-
|Drama, dance and performance arts || AB Keith, Rachel Baumer and James Brandon, Mohan Khokar || <ref>[https://archive.org/details/SanskritDrama-KeithA.Berriedale The Sanskrit Drama], Oxford University Press</ref><ref>Rachel Baumer and James Brandon (1993), Sanskrit Drama in Performance, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|81-208-0772-3}}</ref><ref>Mohan Khokar (1981), Traditions of Indian Classical Dance, Peter Owen Publishers, {{ISBN|978-0-7206-0574-7}}</ref>
|-
|Education, school system || Hartmut Scharfe ||<ref>Hartmut Scharfe (2002), Education in Ancient India, BRILL, {{ISBN|978-90-04-12556-8}}</ref>
|-
|Epics || John Brockington || <ref>John Brockington (1998), The Sanskrit Epics, BRILL, {{ISBN|978-90-04-10260-6}}</ref>
|-
|Gnomic and didactic literature || Ludwik Sternbach ||<ref>Ludwik Sternbach (1974), Subhāṣita: Gnomic and Didactic Literature, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-01546-2}}</ref>
|-
|Grammar || Hartmut Scharfe || <ref>Hartmut Scharfe, A history of Indian literature. Vol. 5, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|3-447-01722-8}}</ref>
|-
|Law and jurisprudence || J Duncan M Derrett ||<ref>J Duncan M Derrett (1978), Dharmasastra and Juridical Literature: A history of Indian literature (Editor: Jan Gonda), Vol. 4, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|3-447-01519-5}}</ref>
|-
|Lexicography || Claus Vogel || <ref>Claus Vogel, A history of Indian literature. Vol. 5, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|3-447-01722-8}}</ref>
|-
|Mathematics and exact sciences || Kim Plofker David Pingree ||<ref>Kim Plofker (2009), Mathematics in India, Princeton University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-691-12067-6}}</ref><ref>David Pingree, A Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit, Volumes 1 to 5, American Philosophical Society, {{ISBN|978-0-87169-213-9}}</ref>
|-
|Medicine || MS Valiathan, Kenneth Zysk ||<ref>MS Valiathan, The Legacy of Caraka, Orient Blackswan, {{ISBN|978-81-250-2505-4}}</ref><ref>Kenneth Zysk, Medicine in the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-1401-1}}</ref>
|-
|Music || Emmie te Nijenhuis, Lewis Rowell || <ref>Emmie te Nijenhuis, Musicological literature (A History of Indian literature ; v. 6 : Scientific and technical literature ; Fasc. 1), Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-01831-9}}</ref><ref>Lewis Rowell, Music and Musical Thought in Early India, University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|0-226-73033-6}}</ref>
|-
|Mythology || Ludo Rocher || <ref>Ludo Rocher (1986), The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-02522-5}}</ref>
|-
|Philosophy || Karl Potter ||<ref>Karl Potter, The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volumes 1 through 27, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|81-208-0309-4}}</ref>
|-
|Poetics || Edwin Gerow, Siegfried Lienhard ||<ref>Edwin Gerow, A history of Indian literature. Vol. 5, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|3-447-01722-8}}</ref>
|-
|Gender and Sex || Johann Jakob Meyer ||<ref>JJ Meyer, ''Sexual Life in Ancient India'', Vol 1 and 2, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-1-4826-1588-3}}</ref>
|-
|State craft, politics || Patrick Olivelle || <ref>Patrick Olivelle, King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-989182-5}}</ref>
|-
|Tantrism, Agamas || Teun Goudriaan ||<ref>Teun Goudriaan, Hindu Tantric and Śākta Literature, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|3-447-02091-1}}</ref>
|-
|Temples, Sculpture || Stella Kramrisch ||<ref>Stella Kramrisch, Hindu Temple, Vol. 1 and 2, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0222-3}}</ref>
|-
|Scriptures (Vedas and Upanishads) || Jan Gonda ||<ref>Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic literature (Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas), Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|3-447-01603-5}}</ref>
|}

==Historical significance==
The Hindu scriptures provide the early documented history of arts and sciences forms in India such as [[Music of India#History|music]], [[Dance in India#Origin of Dance in India|dance]], [[Sculpture in South Asia|sculptures]], [[Architecture of India#600 BCE—250 CE|architecture]], [[Indian astronomy|astronomy]], [[Vedanga|science]], [[Vedic Mathematics|mathematics]], [[Ayurveda|medicine]] and [[Yoga#Vedic period (1700–500 BCE)|wellness]]. [[Valmiki]]'s [[Ramayana]] (500 BCE to 100 BCE) mentions music and singing by [[Gandharva]]s, dance by [[Apsara]]s such as [[Urvashi]], [[Rambha (apsara)|Rambha]], [[Menaka]], [[Tilottama]] [[Panchāpsaras]], and by [[Ravana]]'s wives who excelling in ''nrityageeta'' or "singing and dancing" and ''nritavaditra'' or "playing musical instruments").<ref name=rama1>Ananda W. P. Guruge, 1991, [https://archive.org/details/trent_0116402264364/page/180  The Society of the Ramayana], Page 180-200.</ref> The evidence of earliest dance related texts are in ''Natasutras'', which are mentioned in the text of [[Pāṇini|Panini]], the sage who wrote the classic on [[Vyakarana|Sanskrit grammar]], and who is dated to about 500 BCE.<ref name="Lidova1994p111">{{cite book|author=Natalia Lidova |title=Drama and Ritual of Early Hinduism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TKarwqJJP0C |date=1994 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1234-5 |pages=111–113}}</ref>{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|p=30}} This performance arts related [[Sutra]] text is mentioned in other late Vedic texts, as are two scholars names Shilalin ([[IAST]]: Śilālin) and Krishashva (Kṛśaśva), credited to be pioneers in the studies of ancient drama, singing, dance and Sanskrit compositions for these arts.<ref name="Lidova1994p111"/>{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|pp=xxiv, xxxi–xxxii, 17}} Richmond et al. estimate the ''Natasutras'' to have been composed around 600 BCE, whose complete manuscript has not survived into the modern age.{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|p=30}}<ref name="Lidova1994p111"/>

==See also==
*[[Indian epic poetry]]
*[[Hindu eschatology]]
*[[List of Hindu texts]]
*[[List of historic Indian texts]]
*[[Sutra]]
*[[Prasthanatrayi]]
*[[Sanskrit literature]]
*[[Timeline of Hindu texts]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{Cite book |last=Apte |first=Vaman Shivram |title=The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary |year=1965 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |location=Delhi |isbn=81-208-0567-4}}
*{{cite book|last1= Deussen |first1=Paul |last2= Bedekar |first2=V.M. (tr.)|last3= Palsule (tr.)|first3=G.B. |title=Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 2| year=1997| publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1467-7}}
*{{citation|first1=Richard|last1= King|year= 1995|last2= Ācārya|first2= Gauḍapāda|title= Early Advaita Vedānta and Buddhism: the Mahāyāna context of the Gauḍapādīya-kārikā|publisher= SUNY Press|isbn= 978-0-7914-2513-8}}
* {{cite book|year=2000|last=Collins|first=Randall|title=The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0-674-00187-7}}
* {{Citation|title=History of Philosophy Eastern and Western|first=T. M. P|last=Mahadevan|editor=Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan|year=1956|publisher=George Allen & Unwin Ltd}}
*{{cite book|first=Arthur Anthony |last= MacDonell|year= 2004|title= A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary|publisher= Motilal Banarsidass|isbn= 978-81-208-2000-5}}
*{{cite book|first=Patrick| last=Olivelle|year=1992|title= The Samnyasa Upanisads|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0-19-507045-3 }}
* {{Citation|last=Olivelle|first=Patrick|title=Upaniṣads|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-19-283576-5}}
* {{cite book | last1 = Radhakrishnan | first1 = S. | author-link = Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan | last2 = Moore | first2 = C. A. | year = 1957 | title = A Source Book in Indian Philosophy | publisher = Princeton University Press | location = Princeton, New Jersey | isbn = 978-0-691-01958-1 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/sourcebookinindi00radh }}
* {{Citation|title=A constructive survey of Upanishadic philosophy|first=R. D.|last=Ranade|year=1926|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan}}
* {{Citation|title=India : History, Religion, Vision And Contribution To The World|volume=1|first=Alexander P|last=Varghese|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors|year=2008|isbn=978-81-269-0903-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7GKwhuea9kC}}

==Further reading==
* R.C. Zaehner (1992), Hindu Scriptures, Penguin Random House, {{ISBN|978-0-679-41078-2}}
* Dominic Goodall, Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0-520-20778-3}}
* Jessica Frazier (2014), The Bloomsbury Companion to Hindu studies, Bloomsbury Academic, {{ISBN|978-1-4725-1151-5}}

==External links==
Manuscripts collections (incomplete)
*[https://archive.org/stream/b20456645M001#page/n3/mode/2up A handlist of Sanskrit and Prakrit Hindu, Buddhist and Jain Manuscripts held by the Wellcome Library], '''Volume 1''', Compiled by Dominik Wujastyk (Includes subjects such as historic Dictionaries, Drama, Erotics, Ethics, Logic, Poetics, Medicine, Philosophy, etc.)
*[http://wellcomelibrary.org/content/documents/printed-catalogues/a-handlist-of-sanskrit-and-prakrit-manuscripts-volume-2.pdf A handlist of Sanskrit and Prakrit Hindu, Buddhist and Jain Manuscripts held by the Wellcome Library], '''Volume 2''', Compiled by Dominik Wujastyk (Includes subjects such as historic Dictionaries, Drama, Erotics, Ethics, Logic, Poetics, Medicine, Philosophy, etc.; for complete 6 set collection see {{ISBN|0-85484-049-4}})
*[http://claysanskritlibrary.org Clay Sanskrit Library] publishes Sanskrit literature with downloadable materials.
* [https://templesblog.com/hindu-sacred-books/ The Sacred Books of the Hindus Information]
Online resources:
*[https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/themes/hinduism The British Library: Discovering Sacred Texts - Hinduism]
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/index.htm Sacred-Texts: Hinduism]
*[http://sanskritdocuments.org Sanskrit Documents Collection]: Documents in ITX format of Upanishads, Stotras etc.
*[http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ebene_1/fiindolo/gretil.htm GRETIL: Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages], a cumulative register of the numerous download sites for electronic texts in Indian languages.

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