The Four Vedas

Classification of Hindu Sacred Texts:

Hindu sacred texts are generally classified as:
shruti, or deriving from oral traditions (the word shrutimeans that which is heard by the ancients directly from the gods.)
smriti,or teachings transmitted through writing (the word smritii means that which is remembered and transcribed.)

The Philosophical Teachings

Between 700BCE and 300BCE, an era of change took place giving rise to philosophical works. These include:

the Aranyakas,or so-called "Forest Books" dealing with interpretations of rituals;

the Upanishads, which articulate the spiritual meanings of the vedas. The word Upanishadmeans literally to "sit by" and is derived from the times when students sat at the feet of the teachers who expounded on the sacred texts;

the Puranas, by the sage Vyasa, which describe the lives of the gods and their struggles to achieve moral perfection;

the Mahabharata,India's great epic literature describing the wars of the Bharata clan. The epic, written circa 500BCE by the sage Vayasa, inspired devotional following of the different personas in the epic. Part of the Mahabharataincludes the famous section known as the Bhagavad Gita, or "Song of the Lord." This section is best known for the dialog between Krishna and Arjuna. The Bhagavad Gita forms the focal point of reverence for Hindus.

the Ramayana,(200BCE-200CE) another great epic composed in twenty four thousand couplets by the poet-sage Valmiki. This epic focuses on the exile of Prince Rama, the abduction of his wife Sita by the demon Ravana. A high point of the Ramayana centers around the battle Rama wages against Ravana.
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