The great Hindu scriptures, explained: A guide to the texts and their stories

When someone says they want to read Hindu scriptures, it is worth asking what they have in mind. They may be thinking of the Bhagavad Gita kept near the family shrine, the Ramayana they heard from a grandparent, or the Vedas they have heard described as the oldest sacred texts. Someone else may mean a Purana read during a vrat. These are all part of a wide literary and religious tradition, but they are not the same kind of book. Knowing a little about the different groups makes it easier to choose a place to begin, and to understand what another person means when they refer to a text.

Shruti and smriti: two useful starting points

A distinction that appears often in discussions of Hindu texts is between shruti and smriti. Shruti means “that which is heard” and refers to the Vedas, understood in the tradition as received and preserved through oral transmission. Smriti means “that which is remembered” and includes the epics, Puranas and texts on dharma and conduct. The terms describe how texts are understood; they should not be used to dismiss a book that has shaped a family or community.

The distinction matters when discussing authority or history, but it does not measure how much a text matters to a family. Someone may know the Ramcharitmanas very well because it was read at home, while another person has studied Vedic hymns. Their experience comes from different paths. Ask which text is being discussed before assuming they disagree.

The four Vedas

The four Vedas have different emphases. The Rigveda contains hymns addressed to deities. The Yajurveda is closely connected with sacrificial ritual and its spoken formulae. The Samaveda is associated with chant; much of its material is drawn from the Rigveda and arranged for singing. The Atharvaveda includes hymns concerned with household life, healing and protection, alongside other subjects. Calling it simply a book of spells is too narrow. Nor are the four Vedas merely four sections of one modern textbook.

Each Veda has been preserved through particular recensions, known as shakhas. These are traditions of recitation and transmission, and not all have survived. A printed edition or translation represents a particular textual tradition and editorial choice. English translations may differ in how they understand a word or hymn. Read the translator’s introduction and notes to understand the approach. It is more accurate to say that you have read a translation of a particular Vedic text than to suggest that one book settles every question about the Vedas.

Where the Upanishads fit

The Upanishads belong to the wider Vedic tradition and explore questions about the self, reality and the relationship between the two. Two words appear regularly: atman and brahman. Atman is often translated as the self. Brahman is more difficult to render in one English word; translations and explanations include ideas such as ultimate reality or the ground of existence. The exact sense depends on the passage and the school of interpretation. It is worth being cautious about reducing either word to a familiar English equivalent before reading the surrounding teaching.

The major commentators did not explain these teachings identically. Shankara and Ramanuja, for example, developed different accounts of the relationship between atman and brahman. Their interpretations shaped later traditions. A first-time reader need not settle the debate; it is enough to notice which commentary is guiding the explanation and to remember that other schools may read the passage differently.

There is no single short list that every community uses as the complete set of Upanishads. A group of principal Upanishads is studied especially often. These include the Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads. Some are brief, while others are extended works with several discussions. If one of them interests you, it is better to follow a complete section or teaching than to rely on a sentence separated from its context.

A translation is a way into a text. Its notes help you see the choices made along the way.

The two epics

The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are known as the two great epics, or itihasa. Both are part of the smriti tradition, and both have been retold and read in many languages. The Sanskrit Ramayana associated with Valmiki tells the story of Rama, Sita, their exile, Sita’s abduction, the events in Lanka and the return to Ayodhya. In many North Indian homes, however, the book called simply “the Ramayana” is the Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas. It is a devotional retelling composed in Awadhi centuries after the Sanskrit epic. The two works share a central story, but they are not identical texts. Being clear about which one you mean avoids confusion when comparing a verse or episode.

Gita Press in Gorakhpur publishes both texts and is familiar in many homes and temple bookstalls. A household may be remembering Tulsidas while another reader is looking for the episode in Valmiki. Naming the edition helps explain why their wording differs.

The Mahabharata is the longer of the two epics and is traditionally attributed to Vyasa. The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune prepared a scholarly critical edition by comparing manuscript witnesses. This is known as the BORI Critical Edition. It gives scholars a carefully established text for studying passages where manuscripts differ. It is not the only form of the epic that matters to readers, and it is not usually the edition found on a family shelf. Household reading includes regional retellings, translations and editions such as those published by Gita Press. Each serves a different reading purpose.

The Mahabharata contains much more than the Kurukshetra war. The Shanti and Anushasana Parvas include long discussions after the fighting has ended. The Gita is one part of this larger epic; its place in the story is explored in our guide to the Gita and the Mahabharata.

The Puranas and stories told at home

The Puranas bring together stories about deities, genealogies, sacred places, vows and the history of the worlds. Tradition commonly speaks of eighteen major Puranas, alongside many other works and related texts. The Bhagavata Purana is especially well known in household devotional life. Its tenth book, which tells stories of Krishna, is widely read and heard. Gita Press publishes Hindi editions that many families refer to simply as the Bhagavat.

The Skanda Purana is an extensive work, and the Satyanarayan katha commonly recited during the vrat is associated with a section known as the Reva Khanda. In everyday practice, most families encounter the story through a small printed booklet or a priest’s recitation rather than by reading a large Purana from beginning to end. That is one way a text becomes part of household worship: a particular section is read when a family observes a particular occasion.

Different Puranas place emphasis on different deities and tell stories in their own ways. Their accounts do not always fit together as one continuous chronology. A reader may come across variations in an episode or in the way a deity is praised. It is useful to recognise that these works have their own settings and purposes rather than treating every difference as an error that must be corrected. A Purana can be read as sacred literature and valued as a story without needing to present every episode as a modern historical report.

How people usually find their way into these books

Most readers begin with something already present in family life: a chapter of the Gita, a Ramayana recital during Shravan, a katha connected with a vrat, or a story remembered from childhood. The next step is to learn the name of the text and, where possible, the edition or telling being read.

There are also regional Ramayana traditions. Kamban’s Tamil Ramayana and Krittivas’s Bengali Ramayana have their own literary histories. Someone in Chennai and someone in Banaras may use the same name for different poems. Asking which version a person grew up hearing is often more useful than assuming they have misremembered an episode.

Naming Gita Press is useful because its books are widely present in Indian homes and temple shops. The BORI Critical Edition answers another question: how manuscript evidence can be represented for close study of the Mahabharata. One identifies a familiar household edition; the other supports scholarly comparison. Before comparing quotations, find out which edition each person is using.

Some people first encounter a text by hearing it. A recitation can make the pace and structure easier to follow, especially in an unfamiliar language. Listening is a useful beginning, though a reader studying a particular word or passage should also consult the text. To hear a mantra or recitation before choosing one to repeat, explore the MyDevalay mantra pages.

When you want to quote a line

1. Look for the line in a printed or digital edition you can identify.
2. Note the title, chapter or section, verse where available, and publisher or translator.
3. Read the lines around it so that you understand what the passage is discussing.
4. If you remember the idea but cannot locate the exact words, describe it as something you remember rather than presenting it as a direct quotation.

• A Sanskrit term may carry more than one meaning. Check how the translator explains it in that passage.
• Two translations may differ because the translators have made different choices. Their introductions and notes can explain why.
• A hymn, an epic episode and a Purana story belong to different kinds of literature. They do not need to be read in exactly the same way.

text
Book or text:
Edition, publisher or translator:
Language:
Chapter or section:
A passage I have checked:
A passage I remember but have not located:

There is no required order

These shelves are not a syllabus that every reader must complete in order. Traditions have long discussed which texts carry authority for particular purposes. A newcomer does not need to settle those questions before reading. Start with care, identify the edition, and notice when a statement is an interpretation rather than the exact wording of a text.

One word that appears across many of these works is dharma. It can refer to duty, conduct, order or the responsibility appropriate to a particular situation. No single English word covers every use. Its meaning depends on the passage and the question being discussed. When you meet the word in a translation, read the surrounding lines and, where useful, compare the translator’s note. A short quotation may be memorable, but it rarely gives the whole account of how the text is using the term.

Reading can sit alongside a regular practice. You might repeat a mantra while working through a chapter or listen to a recitation. Our introduction to jaapa explains how mantra repetition can become a manageable routine. You do not have to finish an epic before beginning, and a daily mantra does not mean you have studied the text from which it comes.

Read a little, then return to it

If you are unsure where to begin, choose one book in a language you can read comfortably and stay with it. A short section read carefully is often more useful than moving quickly between summaries. Mark questions as they arise; a later chapter or a commentary may help answer them.

You could spend a month with a few chapters of the Gita, follow a Ramayana recital during a festival, or read the story connected with a family vrat. When a festival brings a text into the household, find out which version is being read and follow that telling first. Give the book enough attention to understand what you have actually read.

Dharma literature also belongs to smriti. These works discuss conduct, family responsibilities and social duties. They are not the Vedas or one simple code to quote without context. A new reader already has plenty to explore in the Vedas, Upanishads, epics and Puranas without claiming to know every text on dharma.

Keep a pencil or notebook nearby. Note the chapter, edition and question that arose while reading. When you return, you can find the passage and see whether your understanding has changed. Those notes are more dependable than a collection of unattributed quotations. You do not have to read everything at once; begin with a text that matters to you and give it time.