The rigveda rigveda the book of mantras, is the oldest indic text and is a collection of 1,028 vedic sanskrit hymns, 10,600 verses collected into 10 books of hymns and mantras used by the. Scientists finally read the oldest biblical text ever found. Christianity hinduism oldest buddhism judaism islam confucianism taoism religion type monotheistic henotheistic polytheistic monotheistic monotheistic no god no god founder jesus christ no specific founder and time siddhartha gautama budda one who is awake abraham muhammad confucious laotzu god holy trinity brahman one supreme. Yes, today we are going to discuss about vedas, holy books of hindus and worlds oldest literature. Directly translating as praise knowledge, the rigveda is one of the four canonical hindu sacred texts that collectively make up the vedas.
Composed in vedic sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and. The vedas are scriptures that the hindu people use as a guide to daily and religious life. Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature related to any of the diverse. The name of the first part is black yajurveda, called taittiriya. There is one supreme god that cannot be fully known or. This collection of sacred verses and hymns was written in sanskrit and contains revelations received by ancient saints and sages. This book encapsulates the complete wisdom of one of humanitys oldest religions in an easytounderstand format debashis majumdar, india about the author prof dr satyajit is a renowned educationist in india who has written this book after 5 years of research in hindu religion. It includes elements such as liturgical material as well as mythological accounts, poems, prayers, and formulas considered to b.
For hindus, the veda is a symbol of unchallenged authority and. The puranas are postvedic texts which typically contain a complete narrative of the. Sacred hymns, which are a large body of texts originating in ancient india. Vedas simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus. Koran or alquran holy book of islam was written in 650 ad. Composed in vedic sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature. Oct 12, 2018 the vedas are the oldest of the hindu scriptures and form the very foundation of hinduism. There are four vedas namely rigveda, yajurveda, samaveda and atharvaveda. Today, with about 900 million followers, hinduism is the third. And what makes it so unique is that it has no founders.
The vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient india. Refrences of oldest religion jainism in oldest composed. Vedas are the earliest written documents of human civilization. List of holy bookstexts and scriptures in hinduism. The veda, which means wisdom, is comprised of four ancient and holy scriptures which all hindus revere as the revealed word of god. Composed in vedic sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of hinduism. Holy city of hinduism located on the banks of the ganges river.
Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata. Yajus were mantras sung during religious activities. They are considered among the oldest, if not the oldest, religious. The primary texts, known as the vedas, were composed around 1500 b. But the vedantic beliefs went under much transformation and became gradually polytheistic in character. The belief system in the hindi religion is outlined from these scriptures. Composed in vedic sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit. The concluding portions of the vedas are called upanisads.
Bahagavad gita indian hindu epic poem between 200 bc 200 ad. Vedic literature was composed by the knowledgeable pandits or brahmins of that era. It takes up to two chapters of the mahabharata and is the thesis vocalized by krishna to arjuna as they were in the chariot sitting ready between the armies for battle. There are four vedas hindus believe, that all four were divinely revealed to ancient hindu sages. The vedas are a large body of hindu texts originating in vedic period in northern india, the rig veda being composed ca.
These are written as prose written in spoken language, unlike poetry. The upanishads are contained within the vedas and delve into the metaphysical nature of the universe and soul. There are also other holy books like puranas, ramayana, mahabharta etc. The different gods and goddesses in the hindu mythology are derived from these books. There are four vedas, and these constitute the hindu canon but they are largely religious scriptures, some telling it to be gods words. They are rig veda, sama veda, yajur veda and atharva veda. The vedas are the religious texts which inform the religion of hinduism. Hindu sacred literature is the most ancient of the. In modern times, most ancient texts have been translated into other indian languages and some in non indian languages. Mar 26, 2020 the holy book in the hindu religion is known as the vedas. That is a part of a hinduism details sequence from the vedanta channel.
Ten principal texts the itihasas histories or epics the bhagavadgita philosophy the puranas stories and histories the dharma shastra law books. Dr arnold toynbee believed in the concept of spreading love, honesty and attaining enlightenment mentioned in the holy book of hindus. Which holy book is the oldest, the bible, the gita, or the. And yet, this work came to the limelight only in the early 20th century. 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. The 108 upanishads muktika the upanishads are the last chapter of the vedas. They consist of the rig veda book of mantra and hymn, the sama veda book of song, the yajur veda book of ritual, and the atharva veda book of spell. Bagavad gita forms chapters 25 42 of the 6th book of mahabharata which probably reached its final stable form around the 4th century bce fowler 2012 authorship is unknown since it comes from an earlier oral tradition. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata, and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation, etc. Bahagavad gita indian hindu epic poem between 200 bc. Hinduism information for students and children kids portal. Rigveda the book of mantras, is the oldest indic text and is a collection of 1,028 vedic sanskrit hymns, 10,600 verses collected into 10 books of hymns and mantras used by the priests.
One of the oldest known religious texts is the kesh temple hymn of ancient sumer, a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 bce. The palace of illusions by chitra banerjee devakurni. Found in a walled up cave in china along with other printed materials, the book is made up of chinese characters printed on a scroll of grey printed paper, wrapped along a wooden pole. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books.
Download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf ebooks. Composed in vedic sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature an. List of holy books in hinduism the galaxy of hindu literature is very vast and voluminous. May 11, 2019 the worlds earliest complete, dated and printed book goes back to may 11, 868. Hinduism is old as compared to the religions of buddhism and jainism. A buddhist holy text, the diamond sutra is considered to be the oldest surviving dated printed book in the world. Hinduism information for students and children kids. The passages, which come from the book of leviticus, show the first physical evidence of a longheld belief that the hebrew bible thats in use today has is more than 2,000 years old. Brahmanas these include myths, legends and explain some of the rituals. The word ved is made up of word vid, which means knowledge or knowing, person who do not believe or do not know. The vedas are a collection of hymns and other ancient religious texts written in india between about 1500 and bce. The sacred language of sanskrit is used for recognized texts whereas vernacular languages for common texts.
The most sacred and oldest hindu texts are called the vedas. The holy books of hinduism hinduism details simplyhindu. The veda, which means wisdom, is comprised of four ancient and holy scriptures which all hindus revere as the revealed word of. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. Apr 03, 20 the vedas are the oldest religious scriptures available to us. The epic of gilgamesh from sumer, although only considered by some scholars as a religious text, has origins as early as 2150 bce, and stands as one of the earliest literary works that includes various mythological figures and themes. Mar 25, 2020 the most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. They have information beyond the knowledge of any human on this planet. Aug 26, 2010 hinduism does not have just one holy book like christianity. Hinduism today has number of holy books, the most important being the four vedas divine knowledge which are the foundation of hindu philosophy. Texts and books of the smriti bhagavadgita bhagavadgita the most holy book oh hinduism is the bhagvadgita. This holy book is written in the sanskrit language.
Hinduism holy books each of these texts is divided into four sections. Each cycle containing four ages satyuga, treta yuga, dwapar yuga and kalyuga. The second layer of geology of hinduism and was the worlds oldest holy books. Nov 09, 2009 rather than being a single book, the holy bible is actually a collection of 66 books, which is called the canon of scriptures. As per the vedantic embodiments hinduism is monotheistic. Like the taoist tao te ching, the buddhist dhammapada, the sikh adi granth, the jewish torah, the christian bible and the muslim koranthe veda is the hindu holy book. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. The shruti refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts, believed to be eternal. The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification. The vedas are the prime book of knowledge on which primary hindu beliefs stands.
The kesh temple hymn is one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature in the world. Second, these 66 books were written by 40 different authors. Whereas some also believe that initially there was only one veda that is yagur which was further divided into four texts. The vedas are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient india. Its a little hilarious to see the answers here about this question almost every person is trying to prove their scriptures are the best just like any other religious question. Taoteching taoism book of philosophy was mainly written by laotse, who is believed by many to be the founder of taoism. Hindu texts hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. Essentially, you have walked into an encyclopedia of everything categorized by topic, stored in sequential order, and run by the wisest of women and men.
The vedas were heard 100s of years ago from the sky by spritual sages. Veda sacred scriptures of hinduism written 500 bc. They differ from literary texts by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual practices, commandments or laws, ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and for creating or fostering a religious community. Composed in vedic sanskrit hymns, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of hinduism. Religious texts are texts related to a religious tradition. It is often also known as the liturgy to nintud or liturgy to nintud on the creation of man and woman. Hinduism is the religion of choice in some parts of the middle east primarily india. Samhitas oldest part of the text contains mantras and hymns. The researchers and professors believe that these texts were written at the time of kaliyug that is about 2500 years ago.
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