Sacred Hindu Text
Denisha Cerniglia
There are four Vedas, the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. The Vedas are the primary texts of Hinduism. They also had a vast influence on Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Traditionally the text of the Vedas was coeval with the universe. Scholars have determined that the Rig Veda, the oldest of the four Vedas, was composed about 1500 B.C., and codified about 600 B.C. It is unknown when it was finally committed to writing, but this probably was at some point after 300 B.C.
The Vedas contain hymns, incantations, and rituals from ancient India. Along with the Book of the Dead, the Enuma Elish, the I Ching, and the Avesta, they are among the most ancient religious texts still in existence. Besides their spiritual value, they also give a unique view of everyday life in India four thousand years ago. The Vedas are also the most ancient extensive texts in an Indo-European language, and as such are invaluable in the study of comparative linguistics.
The Rig-Veda
translated by Ralph Griffith [1896]
A complete English translation of the Rig Veda.
Rig-Veda (Sanskrit)
The complete Rig Veda in Sanskrit, in Unicode Devanagari script and standard romanization.
The Sama-Veda
translated by Ralph Griffith [1895]
A collection of hymns used by the priests during the Soma sacrifice. Many of these duplicate in part or in whole hymns from the Rig Veda. This is a complete translation.
The Yajur Veda (Taittiriya Sanhita)
translated by Arthur Berriedale Keith [1914]
A complete translation of the Black Yajur Veda. The Yajur Veda is a detailed manual of the Vedic sacrificial rites.
The Texts of the White Yajurveda
translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith [1899]
A complete translation of the White Yajur Veda.
The Atharva Veda also contains material from the Rig Veda, but of interest are the numerous incantations and metaphysical texts, which this anthology (part of the Sacred Books of the East series) collects and categorizes. The Atharva Veda was written down much later than the rest of the Vedas, about 200 B.C.; it may have been composed about 1000 B.C.
The Hymns of the Atharvaveda
translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith [1895-6]
The unabridged Atharva Veda translation by Ralph Griffith.
The Atharva-Veda
translated by Maurice Bloomfield [1897]
(Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 42)
The Sacred Books of the East translation of the Atharva-veda. Selected hymns from the Atharva-veda.
The Vishnu Purana
by H.H. Wilson [1840]
A primary text of the Vaishnava branch of Hinduism, and one of the canonical Puranas of the Vishnu category. Among the portions of interest are a cycle of legends of the boyhood deeds of Krishna and Rama. H.H. Wilson was one of the first Europeans to translate a Hindu sacred text from the original Sanskrit. His style and annotations are exceptional and very readable.
The Garuda Purana
translated by Ernest Wood and S.V. Subrahmanyam [1911]
A Vishnu Purana with Dantesque descriptions of the afterlife, and details of Hindu funeral rites.
The Mahabharata and Ramayana are the national epics of India. They are probably the longest poems in any language. The Mahabharata, attributed to the sage Vyasa, was written down from 540 to 300 B.C. The Mahabharata tells the legends of the Bharatas, a Vedic Aryan group. The Ramayana, attributed to the poet Valmiki, was written down during the first century A.D., although it is based on oral traditions that go back six or seven centuries earlier. The Ramayana is a moving love story with moral and spiritual themes that has deep appeal in India to this day.
The Mahabharata
translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli [1883-1896]
Digitizing this unabridged translation of the Mahabharata was a joint venture between sacred-texts and Project Gutenberg.
The Bhagavad Gita, usually considered part of the sixth book of the Mahabharata (dating from about 400 or 300 B.C.), is a central text of Hinduism, a philosphical dialog between the god Krishna and the warrior Arjuna. This is one of the most popular and accessible of all Hindu scriptures, required reading for anyone interested in Hinduism. The Gita discusses selflessness, duty, devotion, and meditation, integrating many different threads of Hindu philosophy.
The Bhagavadgt (SBE 8)
with the Sanatsugtya and the Anugt translated by Kshinth Trimbak Telang, (Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 8) [1882]
A scholarly prose translation of the Bhagavad Gita with two other similar, less well known, works from the Mahabharata.
Relax with Yoga
by Arthur Liebers [1960]
An introduction to modern Raja Yoga, with photos of asanas.
Great Systems of Yoga
by Ernest Wood [1954]
A review of the Yogic systems.
Old Deccan Days
by Mary Frere [1868]
Ramakrishna, His Life and Sayings
by F. Max Mller [1898]
The collected words of the Hindu sage from a humble background who transcended arbitrary religious boundaries.
The Gospel of Ramakrishna
by Mahendra Nath Gupta, ed. by Swami Abhedananda [1907]
First-hand accounts of the Bengali holy man who preached the unity of religions.
Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic
by W.J. Wilkins [1900]
A detailed walkthrough of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
How To Be A Yogi
by Swmi Abhednanda [1902] A road-map of the Yogic schools.
Twenty-two Goblins
by Arthur W. Ryder [1912]
Indian Fairy Tales
by Joseph Jacobs [1912]
Indian Myth and Legend
by Donald A. Mackenzie [1913]
Hindu mythology from the earliest times through the Mahabharata and Rayamaya.
Karma-Yoga
by Swami Vivekananda [1921]
Can work be holy?
Gitanjali [1913]
Saddhana, The Realisation of Life [1915]
The Crescent Moon [1916]
Fruit-Gathering [1916]
Stray Birds [1916]
The Home and the World [1915]
Thought Relics [1921]
Songs of Kabr [1915]
This section contains works most commonly studied in English. The original language of early Hindu sacred books is Sanskrit and they should be appreciated through speech rather than the written word. There are two categories of texts: the revealed texts and the remembered texts. The revealed texts were supposedly the divine word heard by a primordial sage. The remembered texts were created later by humans.
The remembered texts consist of post-Vedic texts. Among the most important are two epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana; the Bhagavad Gita, a text inserted into the Mahabharata that focuses on the god Krishna; and the Dharamasastras; consisting of the manuals concerning dharma and aphorism on dharma.
Brings together in one volume several decades of work by a consortium of translators of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana Valmiki which was published in seven volumes. Extensive annotations removed. 41 page introduction provides an orientation to the structure of the narrative, key characters, and the significance and legacy of this powerful story, a tale that is a bedrock of Hinduism and the narrative imagination of many communities in India and elsewhere.
Ever wondered about the sacred scriptures that have sustained for millennia one of the oldest and most diverse religions of the world - Hinduism? Want to discover the lessons this history may offer mankind in the 21st century?
This religion course introduces the rich and diverse textual sources from which millions of Hindus have drawn religious inspiration for millennia. The Bhagavad Gita has offered philosophical insights to a number of modern thinkers. This course will introduce important passages from important Hindu sacred texts, their interpretations by moderns and will give you an opportunity to engage with them.
The paper thoroughly reviews Indian attitudes towards combat in the sacred Hindu texts. It compares these rules of armed conflict to international humanitarian law (IHL) in order to elucidate both the similarities and the differences between them. While the convergence is remarkable, the differences are, in places, also significant. These rules must also be viewed within the larger debate within Hinduism on violence and non-violence.
The Vedic hymns are addressed to a pantheon of Vedic gods, primarily Indra, the thunderbolt-wielding king of the gods (cf. Zeus, Jupiter, and Odin); Agni, the fire god; and Soma, the god of the inebriating sacrificial brew and plant, with the brew being given the same name. Vedic religion is world-affirming and seeks progeny, prosperity in the world and heaven in the afterlife. The Vedas are the most authoritative texts since they are considered unauthored, divinely inspired, revealed to the ancient seer-hymnists. As might be expected from a nomadic people invoking a thunderbolt-wielding sky god, Vedic religion places great emphasis on masculinity, virility and martial prowess. Scott Dunbar writes:
Whether the Aryan invasion theory is valid or not,4 Jarrod Whitaker shows that many ancient Vedic hymns are imbued with Aryan militancy, especially those referring to the exploits of Indra and his conquest of the demon Vṛtra.5 For instance, the Rig Veda permits the use of poisoned weapons and advocates the conquest of all corners of the world.
A crucial element of Vedic culture was the division of society into four broad classes, or castes. The brahmins were the priest-scholars at the apex of society, while the next rung down was occupied by kṣatriyas, warrior-administrators entrusted with social governance. Heaven was the reward for warriors who died in battle. There was a fundamental complementarity between the secular power of the ruler and the sacred power of the brahmin: the first needed to be consecrated by the second, the second protected by the first. But above and beyond the work of warriors, we see virile imagery at play in the Vedic literature, where celestial battles are glorified, weapons divinized and incantations deployed in battle, all linked to Hindu mythology. Perhaps the clearest exemplification of this correlation is the sacred horse sacrifice said to be performed by the brahmins in order to consecrate royal power. In the Vedic period, it appears that very few limitations on warfare were adopted by the Aryan tribes which expanded into the Indian subcontinent, but a chivalric code began to emerge in the post-Vedic period as the Indo-Aryans tribal warlords fought among themselves for dominion. In the post-Vedic age, marked by the rise of armies and States, sophisticated legal codes emerge. The martial, world-affirming Vedic ethos represents one of two significant contributors to classical Hinduism, as enshrined in the Mahābhārata (explored later).
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