Vedas

There are four Vedas and they are as follows:

1) Rig

2) Yajur

3) Sama

4) Atharva

Each Veda consists of four parts:

1) Mantras: These are hymns in praise of the vedic gods.

2) Brahmanas: These are guide books for the performance of sacrificial rites.

3) Aranyakas: Otherwise known as Forest books, these give philosophical interpretation of the rituals allegorizing them.

4) Upanishads: These are the concluding portion of the Vedas. They are speculations in philosophy as also mystical utterances revealing the most profound spiritual truths and they in fact constitute the foundation of Hinduism.

It is said that many Upanishads once existed. One hundred and eight have been preserved, these ranging in length from a few hundred to many thousands of words. Some are in prose, some are in verse. Of the one hundred and eight Upanishads, sixteen were recognised by Shankara as authentic and authoritative. On ten of these he wrote elaborate commentaries which included quotations from the other six: and it is these ten which have become to be regarded as the principal Upanishads. They are as follows:

Isha, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aiterya, Chhandogya and Brihadaranyaka.

Ramayana

This great epic depicts the story of Lord Rama, the famous incarnation of Lord Vishnu and an ideal of all the Hindus. The author of this epic was Valmiki. The Ramayana has been written in many languages of Bharat and has become the torch light of Hindu Dharma not only in Bharat but also in far away countries.

Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important of Hindu Shrutis, the scripture revealed directly by the God incarnate to the jewel among warriors Arjuna. It was revealed in the battlefield on the eve of the great war Mahabharat. Arjuna could see great loss of life in the days ahead and wanted no part in it. He turned to Lord Krishna for guidance who recited the Gita to him and the entire human race.

Puranas

There are eighteen Puranas. These in turn tell the stories of all the Avtars. They are as follows:

Brahma, Padma, Vishnu, Siva, Bhagawat, Narada, Markandeya, Agni, Bhavishya, Brahmavaivarta, Linga, Varaha, Skanda, Vamana, Kurma, Matsya, Garuda and Brahmanda.

There are also eighteen Upa Puranas, and they are as follows:

Adi, Nrisinha, Vayu, Shiva-Dharma, Kapila, Durvasa, Brihannaradiya, Nandikeshwara, Ushanah, Varuna, Shwamba, Kalika, Maheshwara, Devi, Bhargava, Vashista, Parasara and Surya.

Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are the three famous gods in all the Puranas.

Mahabharat

This epic saga was written by Maharishi Ved Vyasa. The story is a narrative of a dispute between the families of two brothers, Pandu and Dhritarashtra, known as Pandavas and Kauravas. The dispute is over the domain of Bharatavarsha. The books underlying message is that good will always triumph over evil. Lord Krishna is one of the central characters in the book. During this epic saga there is a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield. This is where Lord Krishna recites the Gita to Arjuna and to the entire human race for the first time.

Darshanas

In the Indian context, philosophy is a science of perceptional truth and its varied aspects. It is broadly divided into two categories:

1) Orthodox or Astik

2) Heterodox or Nastik

There are six philosophies:

Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshka, Purva Mimansa and Uttara Mimansa pertain to the orthodox group because they recognise the authority of the Vedas. However the Mimansas and the Sankhya philosophies do not believe in god as the creator of this world.


Smritis

These books are like Law books. Many of our Rishis' have written Smritis. There are more than Twenty Five Smritis. Well known amongst them are:

1) Manu Smriti

2) Yagnavalkya Smriti

3) Parasar Smriti


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