Scriptures.
A library, not a single book.

The four Vedas—Ṛg, Sāma, Yajur and Atharva—include collections of hymns and formulas, ritual prose, forest texts and Upaniṣads. Vedic recitation depends on carefully preserved oral techniques. ‘The Vedas’ therefore names a complex transmitted corpus, not one book.

• Saṃhitā: collections of hymns and formulas.
• Brāhmaṇa and Āraṇyaka: ritual exposition and forest teaching.
• Upaniṣad: diverse enquiries into self, reality, knowledge, death and liberation.

Smṛti includes the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa, Purāṇas, Dharmaśāstra and other remembered literature. These works profoundly shape Hindu life, but their authority, use and interpretation differ. The Bhagavad Gītā belongs within the Mahābhārata rather than standing outside it.

• Itihāsa: epic narratives remembered as consequential history.
• Purāṇa: cosmology, genealogies, pilgrimage and deity-centred teaching.
• Dharma literature: debated models of conduct, law, life stage and social order.

Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava and Śākta Āgamas and Tantras teach ritual, mantra, initiation, temple design, icon installation, yoga and philosophy. ‘Tantra’ is not a synonym for sexuality; it names numerous traditions, texts and practices, often requiring initiation and lineage guidance.

• Pāñcarātra and Vaikhānasa traditions shape Vaiṣṇava temple practice.
• Śaiva Āgamas are central to many southern temple traditions.
• Śākta Tantras develop intricate Goddess theologies and ritual systems.

A text lives through commentary and recitation. Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja, Madhva and many others read shared sources differently. Tamil Āḻvār and Nāyaṉmār poetry, songs of Mīrābāī and Kabīr, Sikh-adjacent North Indian sant worlds and countless regional works resist a Sanskrit-only map.

• Always name the translator and edition.
• A late text can be religiously central; chronology is not a scale of value.
• Public-domain translations may use dated or colonial language.