This chapter on Hinduism explains the origin of the fundamental pillar of Hinduism – the Vedas. The four Vedas are summarized and the chapter further goes into explaining various Hindu scriptures such as Bhramanas, Aranyakas, Bhashyas, Upanishads, Smriti, Shashtras. This chapter also touches upon Itihasas and Puranas and their primary message that everything ultimately leads to Brahman (God). •Vedas are the fundamentals of the Hindu religion •When the universe got created these vedic hymns were supposed to be humming in the air and the saints could infer these due to their super natural powers •There are four vedas in Hindu religion which have evolved as above. 1. Rig Veda, 2. Yajur Veda, 3. Saama Veda 4. Atharva Veda •While Rig, Yajur and Saama veda, are called Thrayee ie, three fundamental pillars for realizing Brahman (god), the Atharva veda is a synthesis of these three. •While Saama veda is mostly poetic, Rig and Yajur veda consists of poetry and prose. •Several portions of the Rig veda are also found in Yajur veda and Saama veda •While Rig veda focuses on Gnana Maarga, Yajur veda’s key focus is Karma Maarga and Saama veda’s focus is Bhakthi Maarga •The texts of the various vedas are called Veda Samhitha or Shruthi. They are based on direct revelation and hence their authority is unquestioned. •Apart from the veda samhithas, there are various annotations and detailed explanations to vedas called Brahmanas and Aaranyakas. •Based on the concepts relating to Gnana Maarga in vedas various Rishis have expounded and analysed the concept of Brahman and these are called Upanishads. •Bhashyas are the commentary on vedas, upanishads and sutras etc •Shashtras are the teachings of Hinduism by which the people are governed. ‘Shas’ – rule to govern. ‘Shastras’ – that by which one is governed. •All other Hindu Shastras (Ithihasa, Purana, Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha, Kavya, Bhashya, Sutra, Nibandhans etc.) are called Smruti. •Itihasas and Puranas are also other major part of Hindu Shastras. •Itihasas are considered to be the stories which happened in a particular period when the people who created them lived ( Ramayana happened during the period of Valmiki) and Mahabharatha happened during the period of Vedavyasa). Ithihasa means history as it truly happened. Ramayana and Mahabharatha are considered to be Ithihasas for the Hindus. Bhagavadgita, a part of Mahabharatha, also contains very important teachings. •The key teachings of Ramayana, Mahabharatha and Bhagavadgita are given in Appendix 5. Puranas are ancient texts eulogizing various deities, primarily Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva through divine stories. Puranas may also be described as a genre of important Hindu religious texts notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages and demigods and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography. The Puranas are frequently classified according to the three aspects of the divine Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. For people who cannot understand the teachings of Vedas and Upanishads, Puranas tell the same teachings by way of stories so that the teachings get imbibed in the minds of the person. Thus Puranas are shastras for common man told by way of stories. In each of the Puranas, righteousness is upheld by god and the people doing misdeeds get punished. The key teaching of the Puranas also is that the Brahman is the ultimate . The list of Puranas is given in Appendix 6. Appendix 6: Puranas - shastras for common man told by way of stories -Brahma Purana -Padma Purana -Vishnu purana -Shiva Purana -Bhagavatha Purana -Narada Purana -Markandeya purana -Agni Purana -Bhavishya Purana -Brahma Vyvartha Purana -Linga Purana -Varaha Purana -Skanda purana -Vamana Purana -Koorma Purana -Matsya Purana - Vaayu Purana - Garuda Purana - Bramhanda Purana
