List of Hindu texts

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Part of a series on
Hindu scriptures and texts
Vedas

Divisions

Upanishads
Rig vedic

Sama vedic

Yajur vedic

Atharva vedic

Other scriptures
Related Hindu texts
Vedangas
Puranas
Brahma puranas

Vaishnava puranas

Shaiva puranas

Shakta puranas

Itihasa
Sangam literature
Shastras and sutras
Timeline

Hinduism is an ancient religion, with denominations such as Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, among others.[1][2] Each tradition has a long list of Hindu texts, with subgenre based on syncretization of ideas from Samkhya, Nyaya, Yoga, Vedanta and other schools of Hindu philosophy.[3][4][5] Of these some called Sruti are broadly considered as core scriptures of Hinduism, but beyond the Sruti, the list of scriptures vary by the scholar.[6]

Several lists include only the Vedas, the Principal Upanishads, the Agamas and the Bhagavad Gita as scriptures broadly accepted by Hindus.[6][7] Goodall adds regional texts such as Bhagavata Purana and Yajnavalkya Smriti to the list.[6] Beyond the Sruti, Hindu texts include Smritis, Shastras, Sutras, Tantras, Puranas, Itihasas, Stotras, Subhashitas and others.[8][9]

Most of these texts exist in Sanskrit,[10][11] and Old Tamil, and also later in other Indic languages. In modern times, most have been translated into other Indian languages and some in Western languages.[12][13] This list includes major Hindu texts, along with the Hindu scriptures.

  1. ^ Flood 1996, pp. 113, 154.
  2. ^ Michaels 2004, pp. 21–23.
  3. ^ Mikel Burley (2012), Classical Samkhya and Yoga - An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415648875, page 39-41;
    Lloyd Pflueger, Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut Jacobsen), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120832329, pages 38-39
  4. ^ Knut Jacobsen (2008), Theory and Practice of Yoga : 'Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120832329, pages 77-78;
    Isaeva, Natalia (1993). Shankara and Indian Philosophy. State University of New York Press. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-0-7914-1281-7.;
    Natalia Isaeva (1995). From Early Vedanta to Kashmir Shaivism: Gaudapada, Bhartrhari, and Abhinavagupta. State University of New York Press. pp. 137, 163, 171–178. ISBN 978-1-4384-0761-6.;
    C. J. Bartley (2013). The Theology of Ramanuja: Realism and Religion. Routledge. pp. 1–4, 52–53, 79. ISBN 978-1-136-85306-7.
  5. ^ Matthew Clarke (2011). Development and Religion: Theology and Practice. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 9780857930736.
  6. ^ a b c Dominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520207783, page ix-xi, xx-xxi
  7. ^ RC Zaehner (1992), Hindu Scriptures, Penguin Random House, ISBN 978-0679410782, pages 1-11 and Preface
  8. ^ Ludo Rocher (1986), The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3-447-02522-5
  9. ^ Moriz Winternitz (1996). A History of Indian Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. xv–xvi. ISBN 978-81-208-0264-3.
  10. ^ "Indian languages and the classical status".
  11. ^ "Why is Sanskrit so controversial?". BBC News. 12 August 2014.
  12. ^ Sargeant, Winthrop, Introduction to The Bhagavad Gita at 3 (New York, 1984) ISBN 0-87395-831-4
  13. ^ Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: A New Translation Vol. I, at 3 (5th Ed. 1990) ISBN 0-911206-15-9