This religious book defines the boundary of the religion and the followers would be expected to strictly abide by that holy book. Bhakti yoga by swami vivekananda is an introduction to bhakti yoga. Some people are spreading fake verses from holy books to. You will not find any word hindu in the vedic scriptures bhagvatgita is the scientific spirituality spoken by the lord krishna. Another hindu legend states that vyasa narrated it while the elephantheaded deity ganesha broke one of his tusks and wrote down the mahabharata along with the bhagavad gita. This collection of verses and hymns was written in sanskrit and contains revelations received by ancient saints and sages. Since the days of the vedas, which was the golden era of hinduism to this present day, numerous sages maha rishis, saints 63 saivism nayanmars, 4 saivism thevara vocalists, 4 saivism theologists, 12 vaishnavite azhvaars, powerful siththars, hindu holymen and holy women who have been revered by devotees as the aspects of the god himself.
Composed in vedic sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of hinduism. Hindu dharma is not a one book, one prophet, one god religion. Therefore, shruti implies something heard directly from the gods by the sages. Hindu sacred literature is the most ancient of the living literatures of the world.
This book provides a muchneeded thematic and historical introduction to hinduism, the religion of the majority of people in india. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. These divine and immortal beings brought precious knowledge to humans. Arumuga naavalars books such as question and answers in saivasim and palapadam lessons for kids etc, are the basis for the above said syllabus and also of this site, we sincerely hope that you will support and join us in. In some ways hinduism is the oldest living religion since some elements of it date back thousands of years. All about hinduism is intended to meet the needs of those who want to be introduced to the various facets of the crystal that is hinduism. Then i, desiring to produce created beings, performed very difficult austerities, and thereby called into existence ten great sages, lords of created beings, 35. List of holy books in hinduism the galaxy of hindu literature is very vast and voluminous. The book, which was first published in 1947, has now been rearranged in a more convenient form, with useful additions here and. They record an incredibly ancient history, spanning back hundreds of thousands of years through the cycles of time, called yugas. There are 18 maha puranas great puranas and 18 upa puranas minor. Hinduism for kids stories with a moral stories of great statesmen swami vivekananda grandeur of gods name grandeur of gods name swami vivekanands guru, ramkrushna paramhans used to talk regularly with his disciples.
It contains over a thousand songs to gods and goddesses divided into ten books. Where the vedas gave a foundation for the direction of hinduism, the upanishads filled in the gaps. But according to tradition, hinduism was started by the saptarishi or seven sages. The lord bathed in sacred places such as prabhasa, tritakupa and visala, and eventually he came to the holy naimi. The very fact that there are thousands of sacred books within our own tradition, and that thousands are saints and sages are associated with revealing and compiling them has made hindus take it for granted that diversity of scriptures is a.
Hinduism for beginners an concise introduction to the eternal path to liberation by. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions. Children, along with biographies of saints, we should also read books written by them. Flood traces the development of hindu traditions from ancient origins and the major deities to the modern world. Watercolour painting on paper of bharadwaja, a rishi who rama, sita and laksmana spent time with during their exile. An overview of the hindu texts as well as access to their translation. Bhagavatham is the unique scripture written by the great sage veda vyasa. The vedas means knowledge are a large body of knowledge texts originating in the ancient indian subcontinent.
Due to the huge number of gods and goddesses, and their changing role through centuries of indian spiritual life, this is a complex subject. Most books available on hinduism in bookshops in the west today are written by non. It has all the science of this material creation and everything related to soul. Bhagavad gita the holy book of hindus 2059 words bartleby. Markandeya was an ancient indian muni sage and he is known as author of religious hindu texts. This book covers hindu mythology during the vedic and puranic periods. Another hindu holy book that deals with religious duties is law of manu or the dharma shastra. Chapter v hinduism facts hinduism facts facts about. Elish, the i ching, and the avesta, they are among the most ancient religious texts still in existence. The contents of this ancient indian encyclopedic treatise include cosmology, genealogy solar dynasty etc. They have information beyond the knowledge of any human on this planet.
List of holy books in hinduism the galaxy of hindu literature is very vast and. Holy books of hinduism hinduism a perspective the religions founded by individuals have one book that summarizes the philosophies of the founder or the same from the disciples perspective and so on. Holy book, has four parts, the oldest holy book of any organized religion. Thou, goddess, hast disclosed the hymn, and holy gift from mortal men. In the wars that occur in the holy books, as in mahabharta, the different sides had different war weapons which had characters similar to modern day war weapons. The itihasas are the history books of hinduism, the mahabharata and ramayana being the two most important books. The beauty of this holy text is sri suka maharshi, the son of vyasa who helped in transforming the fearful mind of king. The vedas were heard 100s of years ago from the sky by spritual sages. The collection of verses and hymns contains revelations received by ancient saints and sages.
But know me, o most holy among the twiceborn, to be the creator of this whole world, whom that male, virag, himself produced, having performed austerities. The discourses of the four kumaras are found in the hindu epic mahabharata as well as the bhagavata purana the shanti parva book of the mahabharata describes the discourse given by the four kumaras to the demon king vritra and his guru the sage shukra. I have no political qualms or anything, just that i hate both sides misusing and disusing hymns and verses by providing fake translations and hurting hinduism. Some people are spreading fake verses from holy books to say hinduism beef. Hinduism as both a global religion and a form of nationalism are discussed. In fact the sages associated with the vedas are also attributed to have composed many stotras. What is heard in hinduism, the mostrevered body of sacred literature, considered to be the product of divine revelation. And these stories contain a great deal of knowledge. A brahmana, be he ignorant or learned, is a great divinity, just as the fire, whether carried forth for the performance of a burntoblation or not carried forth, is a great divinity. Smritis have been authored and developed by great personages. In the indian tradition, the bhagavad gita, as well as the epic mahabharata of which it is a part, is attributed to sage vyasa, whose full name was krishna dvaipayana, also called vedavyasa. This is also when the idea of karma was written in text.
Holy books of hinduism the religions founded by individuals have one book that summarizes the philosophies of the founder or the same from the disciples perspective and so on. How can death have power over brahmanas who know the sacred science, the veda, and who fulfil their duties as they have been explained by thee, o lord 3. The vedic samhitas never enumerate these rishis by name, though later vedic texts such as the brahmanas. But the most important holy books of hinduism are the vedas. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. This is an attempt to capture in one place the names of books and other. With the last component of the vedas, the philosophically oriented and esoteric texts known as the upanishads traditionally sitting near a teacher but originally understood as connection or equivalence, vedic ritualism and the doctrine of the interconnectedness of separate phenomena were superseded by a new emphasis on knowledge alone. Shri brahmarshi vishwamitra is considered to be one of the most revered rishis sages of the ancient india.
The itihasas are epics of the histories of the gods, their wars, and the emergence of humanity. Before vedas were documented in written form, knowledge used to be transferred verbally. Even the vedas that are fundamental to hinduism or sanatana dharma were not created by the ancient sages they were only perceived by them during meditation. There are many sacred texts of hindus but most valuable and primary texts are vedas, composed around 1500 bce in the sanskrit language. The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. At many places in the bhagavad gita, lord krishna said about his oneness with god.
There is something called pramana, authority, which our acharyas have recognised, and as per the acharyas a set of books are considered primary texts, whereas, other books based on these primary books can also be referred to. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Bhakti yogais a real, genuine search after the lord, a search beginning, continuing, and ending in love. Most interesting facts about hinduism sanatana dharma. Hinduism has no single founder, no single scripture, and no commonly agreed set of teachings despite many key figures and numerous holy books that might indicate otherwise. I want to know who are the seven sages sapta rishis of current manvantara. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. Even those magnanimous ones who belong to the low castes go to the holy. Viu lives who is known as adivaraha the first boar and was worshipped by gods. Who are the seven sages sapta rishis of current manvantara. The vedas are consist of knowledge obtained by the great ancient sages rishis.
Saint tukaram, a great devotee of lord vitthal, taught people that we should remember god in all our joys as well as sorrows. The shruti refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts. There are four vedas, and these constitute the hindu canon. There is no central ancient text that succinctly sums up the religions basic tenets, no single leader that hindus can call the founder of their faith. The main hindu texts are the vedas and their supplements books based on the vedas. Righteous bhrigu, the son of manu, thus answered the great sages. Aum or om is considered as the holy sound because it is believed that consciousness manifested itself as a form through the sound of aum.
Whatever healing balm is yours, nisatyas, near or far away, therewith, great sages, grant a home to vatsa and to vimada. Saptarishi seven sages who guided humanity during four great. The history of some of the great hindu saints of india. Shruti works are considered to have been heard and transmitted by earthly sages, as contrasted to smriti, or that which is remembered by ordinary human beings. The most sacred and oldest hindu texts are called the vedas. Which is the holy book or sacred scripture of hinduism. The king and his guru worship the kumaras and then shukra asks them to describe the greatness of vishnu. In the holy bible, jesus also utters the same in his gospels. Just as holy bible to christians, vedas are considered to be the holy book of hindus. Lord brahma is credited with the composition of vedas which were passed down from the great sages to their disciples. The saptarishi are the seven rishis in ancient india, who are extolled at many places in the vedas and other hindu literature.
It is believed that sage vishwamitra is the first saint of the 24 saints, and sage yajnavalkya the last. As per the puranas, there have been only 24 rishis in india who have the gayatri mantra. I am the way, come to meneither the multitude of gods nor great sages knows my origin, for i am the source of all the gods and great sages. He is one of the saptais seven great sages or rishis in the present manvantara. Hinduism does not have just one holy book like christianity. All hindus know that some books are considered holy by everyone, and not every book written by every author becomes holy.
The brilliant fire is not contaminated even in burialplaces, and, when presented with oblations of butter at sacrifices, it again increases mightily. Unlike other religious traditions, hinduism does not originate in a single. This is the brahma purana in english translation from sanskrit, which is one of the eighteen maha puranas. The content of these hymns includes praises, blessings, and sacrifices. This is the most prestigious portion of the vedic scriptures and became the text upon which hinduism, one of the great axial religions, was developed.
485 99 1070 723 861 570 1170 633 1414 1028 1126 1402 1259 1523 542 394 438 419 590 963 768 254 56 598 1308 1508 815 174 94 109 198 93 58 902 576 529 1242 502 984 581 403 43 280 1324 893 593 209