A brief overview of the development of hinduism there are several important historical facts about hinduism that are relevant to the humanist context. Hinduism is the thirdmost widespread religion in the world after islam and christianity and it is thought to be the oldest religion in the world dating back at least 5,000 years ago. 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. Vedic literature was composed by the knowledgeable pandits or brahmins of that era. The vedas are religious texts that are the oldest written works in hinduism, emerging approximately 2,500 years ago. For the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, our four holy books consist of. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. But the most important holy books of hinduism are the vedas. Rigveda, yajurveda, samaveda, and atharvaveda, and represent the. The aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit.
Hindu religious literature is divided into two main categories. India is home to several religions, but the most common is hinduism at 80% of the population. In this article, we detail the two different categories these texts are organized into, shruti and smriti, and overview the most popular of the hindu texts. Itihasas in hindu religious context this term refers to the mahabharata and the. The holy books in hinduism are there only for guidance. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. The rigveda is a collection of vedic sanskrit hymns counted as the holiest of the four religious texts of hindus, known as the vedas. Unlike christianity or islam, it is a not a religion that is governed by the book. Puranas the puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Five of the hindu holy books are the rig veda, bhagavad gita, sama veda, yajur veda, and athava veda. The shruti refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts. Iskcon, the international society for krishna consciousness, belongs to the vaisnava tradition of hinduism. The vedas are divided into four books, the oldest of which is the rig veda.
There are four vedas namely rigveda, yajurveda, samaveda and atharvaveda. Hinduism is the worlds oldest extant religion, and with more than a billion followers, it is also the worlds third largest religion. The veda is a rather unusual collection of literature. Hinduism definition, hindu religion, gods, beliefs, history, holy book.
Smriti literature is considered less authoritative than sruti. If you know the answer to this question, please register to join. This religious book defines the boundary of the religion and the followers would be expected to strictly abide by that holy book. Om lata bahadur, book of hindu festivals and ceremonies 2nd edition. The four vedas the rig veda, the sama veda, the yajur veda and the atharva veda are the authentic texts of hinduism and are comprised of hymns, incantations, rituals and the importance of practicing them in daily life.
The vedas are the most important and sacred texts for hindus and hinduism. For many hindus there are four goals in human life purusharthas. Hindus call their religion sanatama dharma, eternal religion or eternal truth. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. Hinduism is practised by more than 80% of indias population. Hindu sacred literature is the most ancient of the living literatures of the world. The most important are the torah, or the first five books of moses. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism are stories and epic poems. The hindu bible is called shruti, and contains four subchapters called vedas. Hinduism has many sects, and is sometimes divided into the following. What is the most important holy book of hinduism answers.
You should read enough of the materials presented in this section concerning the tradition of hinduism in order to understand how this tradition displays the characteristics or elements that make a. The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. We do hope that all serious students of hindu religion and philosophy will find the book useful and. These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus. Scholars regard hinduism as a combination of different indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots. Hinduism is widely practiced in south asia mainly in india and nepal. Hindu god rama and cover the most important aspects of the four vedas, meditation. The vedas, upanishads, puranas, and brahmanas granth are the four sacred books in hindu religion. What name is given to the four holy books of the hindus. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. Hinduism is an ancient religion with diverse traditions such as vaishnavism, shaivism.
Download this information as a pdf or view our brochure. Unlike islam, sikhism and christianity, hinduism does not have one holy book, but the important texts are rig veda, upanishad and bhagvad gita. Buddhist place of worship in addition to worshiping at home. Hinduism a brief overview of the development of hinduism. Replica of the original gold plates of the book of mormon. The language of the vedas is sanskrit, a language that is so holy that. The vedas are made up of four compositions, and each veda in turn has.
The church of jesus christ of latterday saints uses four holy books. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata. The book, which was first published in 1947, has now been rearranged in a more convenient form, with useful additions here and there, and is now released in its fifth edition. Summary of hinduism beliefs meaning of name hinduism, from the persian hindu sanskrit sindhu, literally river. In hinduism there is not exactly a text that is a must for the follower. Hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma. It includes the four vedas including its four types of embedded texts the. For many hindus, religion is a matter of practice rather than of beliefs. The primary sacred texts, known as the vedas, were composed around 1500 b. Sruti consists of four vedas, upanishads, brahmanas, aranyakas, and bhagavadgita while smriti consists of manu smriti, 18 puranas, ramayana, and mahabharata and other hindu holy books.
The heart of hinduism text book is produced by iskcon educational services, uk. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. Zabur dawod david the king torah musa moses parted the sea injeel issa ibn marium jesus son of mary performed miracles by will of god quran last and final revelation to mohammad ibn abdullah, the last prophet to mankind. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. Five major world religions chart flashcards quizlet. Hinduism is neither monotheistic nor restricted to one religious scripture. Hinduism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The earliest source of hindu mythology is the vedic literature, the oldest texts of which are the four vedas, or books of knowledge. The vedas and these other works are further divided into two sections. One important aspect of islam beliefs involves the article of faith concerning the holy book of islam and the islam religion recognises more than one holy book for islam. List of holy books in hinduism the galaxy of hindu literature is very vast and voluminous.
Linda johnsen, the complete idiots guide to hinduism. Sacred hindu scriptures holy books of hinduism holy. The smriti, or that which is remembered, are traditional texts. Information on hinduism for kids primary homework help. Shaivism followers of shiva vaishnava followers of vishnu shaktism followers of devi smarta followers of brahman and all major deities. The most ancient sacred texts of the hindu religion are written in sanskrit and called the vedas. The most sacred scriptures of hinduism are the vedas books of knowledge, a collection of texts written in sanskrit from about 1200 bce to 100 ce as sruti revealed texts, the vedas are regarded as the absolute authority for religious knowledge and a test of hindu orthodoxy both jains and buddhists reject the vedas.
Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism. Hinduism is a religion which incorporates diverse views on the concept of god. She whispers, in the religion section, under holy bible and holy quran. Hinduism is a conglomeration of religious, philosophical, and cultural ideals and practices that originated in india thousands of years before the birth of christ. The heart of hinduism, in the spirit of the tradition, aims to be nonsectarian, evenhanded, and respectful in its description of all the hindu traditions.
Hinduism does not just have one sacred book but several scriptures. For hindus, the veda is a symbol of unchallenged authority and. Hinduism is commonly thought of as a religion, but this is an inaccuracy, it is a way in. Different traditions of hinduism have different theistic views, and these views have been described by scholars as polytheism, monotheism, henotheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, agnostic, humanism, atheism or. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. While we have the main vedas, upanishads, the mahabharata in several translations we also present newer commentaries, anthologies. Hindus believe that the vedas texts were received by scholars direct from. The vedas are the oldest religious scriptures available to us. Others include judaisms oral tradition, the written form of which is known as the talmud.