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There are four books of Vedic scripture: the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.
Rig means ritual, and the Rig Veda contains mainly hymns and prayers used in the worship of the gods. Yajur means ceremony, and the Yajur Veda mainly describes how to perform worship rituals. Sama means singing; the Sama Veda contains religious chants, as well as strict rules on how to chant them properly.
Atharva means ‘a priest who knows the secret lore’; the Atharva Vedas describe many different kinds of worship practices to use when worshipping the gods and goddesses. The Atharva Vedas also contain information about Hindu methods of medicine and other practical things.
All of the Vedic teachings are supposed to encourage people to understand that God is all around us. Through following the chants and the way of life described in the Vedas, individuals can make a personal connection with God.
The Upanishads
The upanisHads are ancient books that discuss and add to the knowledge in the Vedas. The word Upanishad is Sanskrit and means ‘to sit down near’, and they are based on the teachings of gurus whose students sat close by them and listened to their words.
The Upanishads are meant to inspire people to learn from the Vedas. The Upanishads explain how the soul can be united with God through contemplation and meditation, as well as through the law of karma.
The Brahmanas
These texts give instructions for the proper way to worship the gods, including how to perform rituals and prayers.
The Aranyakas
These books discuss philosophy. These are called the ‘forest books’ because in ancient times these topics were discussed secretly in the forest.
Smriti Texts
The smriti texts are more popular and easy to understand than the sruti texts. They include books of laws, puRanas (myths, stories and legends) and epic stories.
The epic poems and stories contain moral and spiritual ideas and lessons. The two most important are the maHaBHaRata and the Ramayana.
The Puranas
These texts include stories of the gods and goddesses, tales of the creation, destruction and recreation of the world and information on subjects such as science and astronomy.
The Mahabharata
The Mahabharata contains 100,000 verses in 18 chapters. It tells the story of Lord Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. The main story of the Mahabharata tells the story of a rivalry between groups of cousins – the Kauravas and the Pandavas. At the end is a great battle that is won by the heroes – the Pandavas. This stands for the victory of good over evil. Woven within the Mahabharata are dozens of other stories and hundreds of characters.
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