Great Scriptures of Sanātana Dharma

Hinduism is considered as the oldest religion in the world. It is idiosyncratic in several ways, for instance, it’s not a single religion, but an assortment of many traditions and philosophies. Swami Vivekananda, one of the prolific Indian Hindu monks said-‘I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance.’

Sanātana dharma is often used to indicate the 'eternal' or universal set of obligations or religiously ordained practices binding all Hindus. The principles and ideals of Hinduism are navigated by disparate scriptures and texts. They include –Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Bhagavad Gita, and Dharmashashtra.

There are also Hindu epics, such as Mahabharata and Ramayana. We will try to explore and exposition several of these Hindu scriptures.

Sanātana Dharma scriptures are broadly classified into two categories- Sruti and Smriti.

Sruti is that, which is heard (revelation). It subsumes the necessary tenets of Sanātana Dharma. It epitomizes unquestionable truth and is regarded as eternal. It refers largely to the Vedas (Sama Veda, Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda), which were splendidly heard by Rishi Munis (sages) from Lord Brahma. It also includes Aranyakas and Upanishads.

Smriti is that, which is remembered (written). It is considered supplementary, for it may change over time. It follows the foundation of Sruti. It is said that Smriti was composed after Vedas in around 500BC. The most significant of the Smritis are the- Itihas (Mahabharata and Ramayana), and Puranas (such as Srimad Bhagavatam) which illustrate Hindu ideas through narratives.

The Bhagavad Gita (the inherent segment of Mahabharata), voiced by Shri Krishna, is described as the essence of the Vedas. However, Gita, also known as Gitopnishad, is more often positioned in the Sruti, due to being Upanishadic in content.

The Vedas are an assemblage of hymns and other ancient religious texts written in India between about 1500 and 1000 BCE. They comprise of elements like liturgical material as well as mythological accounts, poems, prayers, and formulas acknowledged being holy. The word 'Veda’ comes from the Sanskrit root ‘Vid’, which means 'to know'. Vedas are referred to as 'apaurusheya' that is –not created by humans. Swami Vivekananda said-"The three essentials of Hinduism are belief in God, in the Vedas as a revelation, in the doctrine of Karma and transmigration."

There are four Vedas- Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva. They mostly consist of hymns recited by Vedic Priesthoods like hotar, adhvaryu, and udgata.

Rig Veda is the Veda of worship. It is comprised of hymns recited by the hotar. It has hymns (mantras) consigned to the gods about the mythology and ancient Vedic ritualistic performances. Rig Veda has 10,552 verses.

Yajur Veda is the Veda of Sacrificial formulas. It consists of hymns recited by the adhvaryu. There are several mantras and verses extracted from the Rig Veda used in rituals, as well as several commentaries on the sacrifices. In total, Yajur Veda has 1,975 verses. 

Sama Veda is the Veda of chants of melodies. It consists of hymns recited by the udgata. It includes mantras mainly from, the Rig Veda, systematized in an order that was used for singing at Soma sacrifice. It has 1,875 verses. 

Atharva Veda is the Veda of the Wise. It depicts a collection of speculative hymns. It subsumes magical spells against enemies, sorcerers, diseases, and mistakes made during the sacrificial practices, as well as hymns dealing with household and noble or aristocratic rites. It has 5,977 verses.

Within each of the four Vedas, there are four kinds of composition. The first two ‘Samhitas and Brahmanas’ deal with the performance of sacrificial rituals (the karma-kanda section), whereas the second pair ‘Aranyakas and Upanishads’ comprise of philosophy (the jnana-kanda section).

Samhitas contain hymns to be used in Vedic Sacrifices for praising and propitiating various Vedic Deities, which primarily include - Agni, Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Soma, Rudras, Vasu and many more. The Deities of the Sruti Vedas are mainly “nature” Gods and the hymns of Samhita were used to call upon these Deities for food, rain, and other essentials of life.

Brahmanas incorporate the working details of rituals mentioned in the Samhitas, along with prose commentaries illustrating the meanings of the mantras and rituals. They are considered as the technical books describing the details of the Agni Hotra or fire and other ritualistic practices. They expound the articles to be required in the ceremonies, as well as the cosmic importance of the rituals to the universe; organizing the beginnings of Sanātana Dharma’s theological reflections.

Brahmanas are further divided into Aranyakas and Upanishads.

Aranyaka means ‘in the forest’.They are “forest books” for hermits and saints, and are considered as philosophical treatises. These works continue the theological speculations of the early evolutionary Sanātana Dharma. To sum up, Aranyakas are related to the philosophical aspects of the Vedas.

The Upanishads are referred to as - the convergence of leading theological discussions on Sanātana Dharma. They present the texts mostly in the form of dialogues between students and teachers, deliberating over questions such as: What is God? What is the soul? What is the nature of reality? And so forth. The Upanishads teach the mode of liberation from rebirth and suffering. They are also known as Vedanta (end of the Vedas) since they preach the concluding or eventual secret to reaching the highest metaphysical state.

Vedangas and Upavedas are two additional literary scriptures associated with the Vedas.

Vedangas are referred to as the limbs of the Vedas. They are defined as the providers of an explanation of science needed to understand and analyze the Vedas. The six Vedangas are – Kalpa Sutras (Ritual Detail), Sikhsha (pronunciation), Vyakarana (Grammar), Nirukti (Etymology), Chandas (Meter) and, Jyotisha (Astronomy/Astrology).

The Upavedas, also called - “following the Vedas”, depict the applied knowledge required and used in literature to christen the subjects of certain technical works. They are mainly considered as Smriti. Upavedas deal with four cultural arts and sciences, which are Ayur Veda (Medicine), Dhanur Veda (Warfare), Shilpa Veda (Architecture), and Gandharva Veda (music and dance).

In Hindu literature, a significant contributor to the collection of mythological stories, legends, and genealogy, varying hugely as to date and origin, are Puranas. They were written by and large in narrative couplets, in an easy to flow style, just as the two great Sanskrit epic poems, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The Puranas treat diverse topics concerned with religious developments including customs, ceremonies, sacrifices, festivals, and places of pilgrimage. They are mainly sectarian- some dedicated to Shiva, some toVishnu, and others devoted to Goddess. Even those Puranas which are designated to be devoted to a specific God pay considerable attention to other Gods. There are traditionally 18 Puranas, but there have been lists of varying Puranas of the same number. The earliest Puranas, composed of allegedly between 350 and 750 CE, include the Brahmanda, Devi, Kurma, Markandeya, Matsya, Vamana, Varaha, Vayu, and Vishnu. Others composed between 750 and 1000, are the Agni, Bhagavata, Bhavishya, Brahma, Brahma Vaivarta, Devi Bhagavata, and several more.

Great Sanskrit epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana are the most popular scriptures of Hinduism. Ramayana was composed by poet Valmiki, and in its present form contains 24,000 couplets, divided into seven books. The poem depicts the birth of Lord Rama in the Kingdom of Ayodhya. The poem revolves around His life and includes events like Rama's marriage to Sita, their 14 years in exile, Sita’s abduction at the hands of Ravana, the demon –king of Lanka,  Rama befriending Hanuman, and the eventual rescue of Sita and execution of Ravana. Many more events are mentioned about the life of Lord Rama. Many translations of Ramayana into the vernacular languages are themselves considered as works of great literary artistry, such as the Tamil version of Kampan, the Bengali version of Krittibas, and the Hindi version of Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas.

Mahabharata is the longest epic poem known. It is described as ‘the longest poem ever written’. Its longest version subsumes over 1, 00,000 slokas (each sloka is a couplet) or over 2,00,000 individual verse lines, and long prose passages. It was authored by Vyasa. The Bhagavad Gita also originated from this epic, and it has a total of one lakh shlokas and is therefore called Shatasahastri Samhita. Mahabharata revolves around the lives of two branches of the royal family  of Hastinapur- the cousins, Kauravas, and Pandavas. They fight the battle of Kurukshetra, to gain the throne. The story also narrates small stories of their ancestors and successors and various philosophical discourses.

The Hindu scriptures are vast storage of mythologies, sacred practices, and the legends of various Gods and Goddesses. They adhere to the philosophy and eventually act as an interpretation of human's relationship with nature and otherworldly affairs.

By - Namrata Sinha