THE HINDU SCRIPTURES

Sanskrit was the standard language for most of the ancient Hindu Scriptures.

The literature can be classified under six conventional and four worldly sections.

The six conventional scriptures are: Srutis, Smritis, Itihasas, Puranas, Aagamas and Darsanas.

The four worldly writings are: Subhashitas, Kavyas, Natakas and Alankaras.

The Scriptures

Srutis

The Srutis are the Vedas, or the Aamnaya. It is alleged that these Scriptures were handed to the Hindus through Spiritual Perception, and known as Apaurusheya is without an author.

Vedas are the perpetual truths revealed by God to the great ancient Rishis of India.

Lord Brahma, the Creator, imparted this divine knowledge to the Rishis.

The Vedas are eternal. They are without beginning and end.

The Four Vedas and Their Sub Divisions

The Vedas are divided into the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda and the Atharva-Veda.

The Yajur-Veda is again divided into two parts, the Sukla and the Krishna.

The Krishna or the Taittiriya is more ancient, and the Sukla or the Vajasaneya is a later revelation to sage Yajnavalkya from the resplendent Sun God.

The Rig-Veda is divided into twenty-one sections, the Yajur-Veda into one hundred and nine sections, the Sama-Veda into one thousand sections and the Atharva-Veda into fifty sections. In all, the whole Veda is thus divided into one thousand one hundred and eighty sections.

Each Veda consists of four parts: the Mantra-Samhitas or Hymns, the Brahmanas or the explanations of Mantras and rituals, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads.

The Mantra-Samhitas are hymns in praise of the Vedic God for attaining material prosperity in life and happiness in the after life. They are musical poems comprising of prayers, hymns and incantations addressed to various deities, both subjective and objective. The Mantra portion of the Vedas is useful for the Brahmacharins.

The Brahmana segment is the text that interprets the Samhitas, and how to perform sacrificial rites They are the specific incantations used in the Yajna or the sacrificial ritual.

The Aranyakas are the books on philosophical interpretations of the rituals and are intended for the Vanaprasthas or Hermits who take Sanyasa and live in Aranaya or forest.

The Upanishads are the most important portion of the Vedas. And contain the quintessence of the knowledge section of the Vedas. The philosophy of the Upanishads is transcendental, advanced and reveal Spiritual Truth.

The Upanishads speak of the identity of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. They reveal the most subtle and deep spiritual truths. The Upanishads are very useful for Sannyasins

The subject matter of the whole Veda is divided into Karma-Kanda, Upasana-Kanda and Jnana-Kanda.

The Karma-Kanda or Ritualistic Section deals with various sacrifices and rituals. The Upasana-Kanda or the Worship-Section deals with various kinds of worship or meditation.

The Jnana-Kanda or Knowledge-Section deals with the highest knowledge of Nirguna Brahman.

The Mantras and the Brahmanas constitute Karma-Kanda; the Aranyakas Upasana-Kanda; and the Upanishads Jnana-Kanda.

The Mantra-Samhitas

The Rig-Veda Samhita is the oldest and the best. This book of immortal Mantras embodies the greatest truths of existence, and is perhaps the greatest treasure in all the scriptural literature of the Hindus. The priests who recite these Mantras are known as the Hotri.

The Yajur-Veda Samhita is mostly in prose, and is used by the Adhvaryu, the Yajur-Vedic priest, for superfluous explanations of the rites in sacrifices, supplementing the Rig-Vedic Mantras.

The Sama-Veda Samhita is inspired from the Rig-Vedic Samhita and is sung by the Udgata, the Sama-Vedic priest during sacrificial rites.

Brahma, the Atharva-Vedic priest, supervises and corrects any thing wrong that are committed by the other three priests during the Yagna, belons to the Atharva-Veda .

The Brahmanas and the Aranyakas

There are two Brahmanas in the Rig-Veda—the Aitareya and the Sankhayana.

“The Rig-Veda,” according to Max Muller, “is the most ancient book of the world. The sacred hymns of the Brahmanas stand unparallel in the literature of the whole world; and their preservation might well be called miraculous.” (HISTORY OF ANCIENT SANSKRIT LITERATURE)

The Upanishads are the concluding portions of the Vedas. The teachings based on the Upanishads are the Vedanta.

The most important Upanishads are Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Aitareya, Taittiriya, Chhandogya, Brihadaranyaka, Kaushitaki, Svetasvatara and Maitrayani.

The Upa-Vedas

There are four Upa-Vedas or subsidiary Vedas and are Ayurveda (Science of Medicine), the Dhanurveda (The Science of War), the Gandharva Veda (The Science of Music) and the Arthasastra (The Science of Meaning).

The Vedangas

There are six Angas or explanatory Texts, to the Vedas. They are the Siksha and Vyakarana of Panini, the Chhandas of Pingalacharya, the Nirukta of Yaska, the Jyotisha of Garga, and the Kalpas (Srauta, Grihya, Dharma and Sulba) written by various Rishis.

Siksha is the Science that deals with pronunciation and accent. The text of the Vedas is arranged in various forms or Pathas. The Pada-patha gives each word its separate form.

The Krama-patha connects the word in pairs.

Vyakarana is Sanskrit grammar. Panini’s books are most famous. Without knowledge of Vyakarana, you cannot understand the Vedas.

Chhandas is the science of Prosody or Versification. The most utilized among the Chhandas or metre is the Anushtup. The 8 syllable feet in a verse.

Nirukta is etymology or the study of or the derivation and development of a Vedic word in form and meaning.

Jyotisha deals with astronomy and astrology and the influence of the constellation of the planets on humans.

Kalpa is the method of performing the ritual. The Srauta Sutras explain the ritual of sacrifices. The Sulba Sutras are about measurements, which are necessary for laying out the sacrificial ground and the Grihya Sutras, concern domestic life, and the Dharma Sutras deal with ethics, customs and laws, also belong to Kalpa.

The Pratishakhyas, Padapathas, Kramapathas, Upalekhas, Anukramanis, Daivatasamhitas, Parishishtas, Prayogas, Paddhatis, Karikas, Khilas and Vyuhas are the elaborations of the Kalpa Sutras.

Among the Kalpa Sutras, the Asvalayana, Sankhyana and the Sambhavya belong to the Rig-Veda.

The Mashaka, Latyayana, Drahyayana, Gobhila and Khadira belong to the Sama-Veda.

The Katyayana and Paraskara belong to the Sukla Yajur-Veda.

The Apastamba, Hiranyakesi, Bodhayana, Bharadvaja, Manava, Vaikhanasa and the Kathaka belong to the Krishna Yajur-Veda.

The Vaitana and the Kaushika belong to the Atharva-Veda.

The Smritis

Next in significance to the Sruti are the Smritis or derivative scriptures. These are the ancient sacred law-codes of the Hindus dealing with the Sanatana-Varnasrama-Dharma. They supplement and explain the ritualistic injunctions called Vidhis in the Vedas.

The Smriti Sastra is founded on the Sruti. The Smritis are based on the teachings of

The Vedas and stands next in authority to the Sruti. It explains Dharma, and lays down the laws, which regulate Hindu national, social, family and individual obligations.

The Texts called Smritis are the law books or Dharma Sastras. The laws for regulating Hindu society from time to time are coded in the Smritis. The Smritis have lain down definite rules and laws to guide the individuals and communities in their daily conduct and to regulate their manners and customs.

Manu Smriti and Yajnavalkya Smriti are universally accepted in the present time as authoritative works all over India. Yajnavalkya Smriti is chiefly consulted in all matters of Hindu Law. Even the Government of India is applying some of these laws.

There are eighteen main Smritis or Dharma Sastras. The most important are those of Manu, Yajnavalkya and Parasara. The other fifteen are those of Vishnu, Daksha, Samvarta, Vyasa, Harita, Satatapa, Vasishtha, Yama, Apastamba, Gautama, Devala, Sankha-Likhita, Usana, Atri and Saunaka.

The laws of Manu are intended for the Satya Yuga, Yajnavalkya are for the Treta Yuga; Sankha and Likhita are for the Dvapara Yuga; and the laws of Parasara are for the Kali Yuga.

The Itihasas

The Valmiki-Ramayana, the Yogavasishtha, The Mahabharata and the Harivamsa. These books symbolize the Vedas, in a simpler manner and are known as the Suhrit-Sammita or the Friendly Treatises, while the Vedas are called the Prabhu-Sammita or the Commanding Treatises with great authority. These works explain the great universal truths in the form of historical narratives, stories and dialogues. These are very interesting volumes and are liked by all, from the inquisitive child to the intellectual scholar.

The Itihasas give us beautiful stories of absorbing interest and importance, through which all the fundamental teachings of Hinduism and indelibly overwhelm the mind.

The common man cannot comprehend the high abstract philosophy of the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras.

Hence, the Sages Valmiki and Vyasa wrote the Itihasas for the benefit of common people. The same philosophy is presented with analogies and parables for the common man to understand.

Sri Valmiki wrote the Ramayana in twenty-four thousand verses.

The Bhagavad-Gita is the most esteemed jewel of Hindu literature. It is a universal gospel and ranked among the sacred literatures of the world.

The Puranas

Vyasa is the compiler of the Puranas

The Puranas were written to popularise the religion of the Vedas. They contain the essence of the Vedas.

The Eighteen Puranas

There are eighteen main Puranas and an equal number of subsidiary Puranas or Upa-Puranas. The main Puranas are: Vishnu Purana, Naradiya Purana, Srimad Bhagavata Purana, Garuda Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana, Brahma Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vamana Purana, Matsya Purana, Kurma Purana, Linga Purana, Siva Purana, Skanda Purana and Agn Purana.

Of these, the first six are Sattvic Puranas and exalt Vishnu;

The next six are Rajasic and venerate Brahma.

And the last six are Tamasic and they praise Siva.

The best known among the Puranas are the Srimad Bhagavata and the Vishnu Purana. The most popular is the Srimad Bhagavata Purana.

Next comes Vishnu Purana and Markandeya Purana, and a part of the latter is well known to all Hindus as Chandi, or Devimahatmya.

Worship of God as the Divine Mother is its theme. The Hindus read Chandi extensively on sacred days and particulary on Navaratri (Durga Puja) days.

The Srimad Bhagavata Purana and the Ten Avataras

The Srimad Bhagavata Purana is a chronicle of the various Avataras of Lord Vishnu. There are ten Avataras of Vishnu.

The ten Avataras are: Matsya (The Fish), Kurma (The Tortoise), Varaha (The Boar), Narasimha (The Man-Lion), Vamana (The Dwarf), Parasurama (The warrior Brahmin and the destroyer of the Kshatriya race), Ramachandra (The hero of Ramayana), Sri Krishna, The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita, Buddha (The prince-ascetic, founder of Buddhism) and Kalki (The hero riding on a white horse, who is to come at the end of the Kali-Yuga).

The Upa-Puranas

The eighteen Upa-Puranas are: Sanatkumara, Narasimha, Brihannaradiya, Sivarahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesa and Hamsa.

The Aagamas

Another class of popular scriptures is the Aagamas. The Aagamas are theological treatises and practical manuals of divine worship and include the Tantras, Mantras and Yantras.

These treatises explain the worship of God in the idol form in Temples through 4 ways. They are Jnana or Knowledge, Yoga or Concentration, Kriya or Esoteric Ritual and Charya or Exoteric Worship. They also give elaborate details about Ontology, Cosmology, Liberation, Devotion, Meditation, Philosophy of Mantras, Mystic Diagrams, Charms and Spells, Temple-Building, Image-Making, Domestic Observances, Social Rules, Public Festivals, etc.

The Aagamas are divided into three sections: The Vaishnava, the Shaiva and the Shakta. The Vaishnava Agamas or Pancharatra Agamas glorify Vishnu as God.

The Shaiva Agamas venerate Shiva as God and have given rise to an important school of philosophy known as Shaiva-Siddhanta, which prevails in South India, particularly in the districts of Tirunelveli and Madurai.

The Shakta Agamas or Tantras exalt God as the Mother of the Universe, under the many names of Devi.

The Aagamas do not derive their authority from the Vedas, but are not antagonistic to them. They are all Vedic in spirit and character. That is the reason why they are regarded as authoritative.

The Vaishnava Aagamas

The Vaishnava Aagamas are of four kinds: the Vaikhanasa, Pancharatra, Pratishthasara and Vijnanalalita.

The Brahma, Saiva Kaumara, Vasishtha, Kapila, Gautamiya and the Naradiya are the seven groups of the Pancharatras. The Naradiya section of the Santi-Parva of the Mahabharata is the earliest source of information about the Pancharatras.

Vishnu is the Supreme Lord in the Pancharatra Agamas. The Vaishnavas regard the Pancharatra Agamas to be the most authoritative. They believe that Lord Vishnu revealed these Agamas.

Narada-Pancharatra says: “Everything from Brahma to a blade of grass is Lord Krishna.” This corresponds to the Upanishad declaration: “Every thing is Brahman—Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma.”

There are two hundred and fifteen of these Vaishnava texts. Isvara, Ahirbudhnya, Paushkara, Parama, Sattvata, Brihad-Brahma and Jnanamritasara Samhitas are the important ones.

The Shaiva Agamas

The Shaivas recognize twenty-eight Agamas, of which the foremost one is Kamika. The Aagamas are also the basis of Kashmir Shaivism, which is called the Pratyabhijna system. The later works of Pratyabhijna system show a distinct leaning to Advaitism.

The South Indian Shaivism, the Shaiva Siddhanta and the Kashmir Shaivism, regard these Aagamas as the authority, besides the Vedas.

Each Agama has Upa-Agamas. Of these, only fragmentary texts of twenty exist. Lord Shiva is the central God in the Shaiva Agamas. They are suitable to this age, Kali Yuga.

The Shakta Agamas

There is another group of scriptures known as the Tantras. They belong to the Shakta cult. They glorify Shakti as the World-Mother. They dwell on the Shakti (energy) aspect of God and prescribe numerous aspects of ritualistic worship of the Divine Mother in various forms. There are seventy-seven Aagamas. These are very much like the Puranas in some respects. The texts are usually in the form of dialogues between Shiva and Parvati.

Tantra is an important work. The Aagamas teach several occult practices some of which confer powers, while the others bestow knowledge and freedom. Shakti is the creative power of Lord Siva.

Shaktism is really a supplement to Shaivism.

Among the existing books on the Agamas, the most famous are the Isvara-Samhita, Ahirbudhnya-Samhita, Sanatkumara-Samhita, Narada-Pancharatra, Spanda-Pradipika and the Mahanirvana-Tantra.

The Six Darsanas

These are the intellectual section of the Hindu writings, while the first four are intuitional, and the fifth inspirational and the sixth, emotional. Darsanas are schools of philosophy based on the Vedas.

The Agamas are theological. The Darsana literature is philosophical. The Darsanas are meant for the erudite scholars who are endowed with acute acumen, good understanding, and power of reasoning and subtle intellect. The Itihasas, Puranas and Agamas are meant for the masses.

Shad-darsana—the six Darsanas or ways of seeing things, usually called the six systems or six different schools of thought. The six schools of philosophy are the six instruments of true teaching or the six demonstrations of Truth. Each school has developed Veda in its own way. Each system has its Sutrakara, i.e., the Great Rishi who systematised the doctrines of the School and put them in short aphorisms or Sutras.

The Shad-Darsanas (the six schools of philosophy) or the Shat-Sastras are:

NYAYA, founded by Gautama Rishi

VAISESHIKA by Kanada Rishi

SANKHYA by Kapila Muni

YOGA by Patanjali Maharshi

PURVA MIMAMSA by Jaimini

UTTARA MIMAMSA or VEDANTA by Badarayana or Vyasa.

The Darsanas are divided into three pairs of aphoristic compositions, which explain the philosophy of the Vedas in a rationalistic method of approach. They are the Nyaya and the Vaiseshika, the Sankhya and the Yoga, and the Mimamsa and the Vedanta. Each set of Sutras has got its Bhashya, Vritti, Varttika, Vyakhyana or Tika and Tippani.

Sutra

Svalpaksharam-asandigdham

Saravad-visvatomukham

Astobham-anavadyam cha

Sutram sutravido viduh

A Sutra or an aphorism is a short formula with the least possible number of letters, without any ambiguity or doubtful assertion, containing the very essence, embracing all meanings, without any stop or obstruction and absolutely faultless in nature.

The Sutrakara or the composer of the aphorisms is said to be as happy as one would be while getting the first male child, if he is able to reduce one letter in his abstruse Sutra of far-fetched words and ideas.

The best example of the greatest and the most perfect of Sutra literature is the series of aphorisms called the Ashtadhyayi composed by Panini.

Panini is the father of all Sutrakaras from whom all others seem to have borrowed the method of composition. The Sutras are meant to explain a big volume of knowledge in short assertions suitable to be kept in memory at all times.

The six Vedangas and the six systems of Hindu philosophy form the twelve sets of Sutra literature of the world. In addition to these, there are later compositions like the Narada-Bhakti Sutras, the Sandilya-Bhakti Sutras, etc., which also wish to assume an equal form with the famous Sutras mentioned above.

Bhashya

Sutrartho varnyate yatra

Padaih sutranusaribhih

Svapadani cha varnyante

Bhashyam bhashyavido viduh

A Bhashya is an elaborate explanation, a commentary on the Sutras, with word-by-word meaning of the aphoristic precepts, their running translation, together with the individual views of the commentator or the Bhashyakara. The best and the exemplary Bhashya in Sanskrit literature is the one written by Patanjali on the Vyakarana Sutras of Panini.

This Bhashya is so very famous and important that it is called the MAHABHASHYA and its celebrated author is specially called the BHASHYAKARA.

Patanjali is the father of Bhashyakaras.

The next important Bhashya is the one on the Mimamsa Sutras written by Sabara-Swamin who learnt the art from Patanjali’s commentary.

Shankara wrote the third important Bhashya on the Brahma Sutras, in close following with the Sabara-Bhashya.

Vatsyayana, Prasastapada, Vijnanabhikshu, Vyasa, Sabara and Shankara wrote the Bhashyas on the six sets of aphorisms dealing with Indian philosophy of the Vedanta or Brahma Sutras and Bhashyas, like those of Ramanuja, Madhva, Vallabha, Nimbarka, etc.

Vritti

Sadvrittih Sannibandhana

A Vritti is a short glossary explaining the aphorisms in a more elaborate way, but not as extensively as a Bhashya. An example is Bodhayana’s Vritti on the Brahma Sutras.

Varttika

Uktanuktaduruktanam

Chinta yatra pravartate

Tam grantham varttikam prahuh

Varttikajnavichakshanah

A Varttika is a work where a critical study is made of that which is said and left unsaid or imperfectly said in a Bhashya, and the ways of making it perfect by supplying the omissions therein, are given. Examples are the Varttikas of Katyayana on Panini’s Sutras, of Suresvara on Shankara’s Upanishad-Bhashyas, and of Kumarila Bhatta on the Sabara-Bhashya on the Karma-Mimamsa.

Vyakhyana or Tika

A Vyakhyana is a running explanation in an easier language of what is said in the original, with little elucidations here and there.

The Vyakhyana, particularly a Kavya, deals with eight different modes of dissection of the Sloka like Pada-Chheda, Vigraha, Sandhi, Alankara, and Anuvada etc.

This forms an important aspect in the study of Sanskrit Sahitya Sastra. An Anu-Vyakhyana—like the one written by Sri Madhva—is a repetition of what is already written, but in greater detail.

The Anuvada is merely a running translation or statement of an abstruse text of the original. Tika is only another name for Vyakhyana.

The best Vyakhyanas are of Vachaspati Misra on the Darsanas, especially on Shankara’s Brahmasutra-Bhashya.

Tippani

Tippani is just like a Vritti, but is less orthodox. It is an explanation of difficult words or phrases occurring in the original.

Examples are Kaiyata’s glossary on the Mahabhashya of Patanjali, Nagojibhatta’s glossary on Kaiyata’s glossary, or Appayya’s glossary on Amalananda’s glossary on the Bhamati of Vachaspati Misra.

Other Scriptures

The Tevaram and the Tiruvachakam which are the hymns of the Shaiva saints of South India, the Divya-Prabandham of the Alvar saints of South India, the songs of Kabir, the Abhangas of Tukaram and the Ramayana of Tulasi Das—all of which are the outpourings of great realized souls—are wonderful scriptures. They contain the essence of the Vedas.

The Secular Writings

The Subhashitas

The Subhashitas are wise sayings, instructions and stories, either in poetry or in prose. Examples are Bhartrihari’s verses, the Subhashita-Ratna-Bhandagara and Somadeva Bhatta’s Katha-Sarit-Sagara or Kshemendra’s Brihat-Katha-Manjari.

The Panchatantra and the Hitopadesa also belong to this category.

The Kavyas

These are highly erudite compositions in poetry, prose or both. The greatest of poetical Kavyas are those of Kalidas (The Raghuvamsa and Kumarasambhava), Bharavi (The Kiratarjuniya), Magha (The Sisupalavadha), Sri Harsha (The Naishadha).

The best prose Kavyas in the whole of Sanskrit literature were written by Bhattabana (The Kadambari and Harshacharita), the great genius in classical Sanskrit. Among those containing both poetry and prose, the Champu-Ramayana and the Champu-Bharata are most famous. These are all wonderful masterpieces, which will ever remain to lionize India’s literary caliber.

The Natakas

These are marvelously pedagogic dramas embodying the Rasas of Sringara, Vira, Karuna, Adbhuta, Hasya, Bhayanaka, Bibhatsa and Raudra. It is told that none can write on the ninth Rasa, viz., Santi. It is attainable only on final Liberation. The best dramas were written by Kalidasa (Sakuntala), Bhavabhuti (Uttara-Rama-Charita), and Visakhadatta (Mudrarakshasa).

The Alankaras

These are grand rhetorical texts, treating of the science of perfection and beauty of ornamental language and of effective composition with elegance and force, both in poetry and in prose. These are the fundamentals of Sanskrit Sahitya, even superior to the Kavyas and the Natakas. The best Alankara-Granthas are those of Mammata (Kavyaprakasa) and Jagannatha (Rasagangadhara).

These constitute the entirety of Sanskrit literature—sacred and secular. The Sruti is the root; the Smritis, Itihasas and Puranas are the trunk; the Agamas and Darsanas are the branches; and the Subhashitas, Kavyas, Natakas and Alankaras are the flowers of India’s Culture.

The Smritis, the Itihasas, the Puranas, the Agamas and the Darsanas are only developments of the Veda. Their ultimate source is the Veda. Their one common aim is to enable man to annihilate his ignorance and attain perfection, freedom, immortality and eternal bliss through knowledge of God or the Eternal. Their purpose is to make man like God and one with Him.