Shruti: Encyclopedia - Shruti

Shruti

Shruti

• Vedas
  • Rig Veda
  • Sama Veda
  • Yajur Veda
  • Atharva Veda
• Brahmanas
• Aranyakas
• Upanishads

Smriti

• Itihāsas
  • Mahābhārata
    • Bhagavad Gītā
  • Ramayana
  • Puranas (List)
• Tantras
• Sutras (List)
• Stotras
• Ashtavakra Gita
• Gita Govinda
• Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Shruti (Sanskrit श्रुति, "what is heard") is a canon of Hindu scriptures. They do not date to a particular period, but span the entire history of Hinduism, beginning with the earliest texts known, with some late Upanishads reaching down into modern times.

Shruti is said to have no author; rather, it is believed to be a divine recording of the "cosmic sounds of truth", heard by rishis.

There are several contesting ways to define Shruti. It is most commonly defined to be composed of the four Vedas:

• Rig-Veda Knowledge of Hymns of Praise
• Atharva-Veda Knowledge of Magic Formulas
• Sama-Veda Knowledge of Melodies
• Yajur-Veda Knowledge of Sacrificial Formulas

Some sub-divisions within the scriptures, such as the Aranyakas, Brahmanas, and Upanishads, belong to the set of works distinctly labeled as Shruti. In addition, the Mahabharata (an Itihasa, or History, also part of the "friendly scripture" class) is considered by some to be Shruti and is sometimes called the 'fifth' Veda. Sometimes the Bhagavad Gita, a chapter within the Mahabharata, is separately considered as worthy of the Shruti status.

See also

• Smriti

Categories: Hindu texts | Religious texts

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Shruti", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki