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Sacred texts
Hindus do not have one ‘Holy Book’ like many other religions, but many texts.
There are two main groups of Hindu sacred teachings. The first are called sRuti, which means ‘things that are heard’. Sruti are teachings that are believed to have come directly from God. The sruti teachings are also called the Vedic scRiptuRe. The expression ‘Vedic’ is a Sanskrit word which means knowledge or revelation.
The second group of sacred texts are called smRiti, which means ‘things that
are remembered’. They were composed long ago by scholars and poets.
Vedic scriptures
These are the most important Hindu sacred texts. They are thousands of years old and contain hymns, incantations, and rituals from ancient India.
E This painting is from a sixteenth century persian translation of the Hindu epic story, the Mahabharata. It shows a part of the Mahabharata where the hero Arjuna is challenged
to a battle by Suratha. Arjuna’s charioteer is Lord Krishna.
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