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The original scriptures of the Hindus are the Vedas, Upanishads, and the great Epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata (from which the Bhagavad Gita comes). In order to understand Hinduism, it is essential to know something about these texts written in the ancient language of Sanskrit.
Vedas
The earliest sacred scriptures of which Hinduism is based are the Vedas, which consist of four texts: the Rigveda (or Rg Veda), the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, and the Atharvaveda (Figure 1). The oldest Vedic text, the Rigveda (and the other Vedic texts as well) consists of verses (samhita), hymns, forest books (aranyakas) and ritual manuals (brahmanas) with chants, incantations, and mantras that were involved in an early sacrificial religious system datating back to 1700-1100 BCE (Narayana, 2016; Olivelle, 2016). From its very origins, the Vedic religion involved the offering of sacrifices to various Vedic gods (Indra, Varuna, Surya, etc.), and ceremonies which became more and more complex as the centuries passed requiring an expansion of the Vedic collections. The sacrifices, performed by the brahmins (Vedic priests), were thought to produce rewards in this life and the next life (including the maintenance of ancestors in the afterlife). The later Vedas and especially the Upanishads described the meaning of the sacrifices and “secret” interpretation of how the sacrifices performed at the local or micro level allowed the emergence of favourable events in the physical universe on the macro level (Williams et al., 2012, p 7). These sacrifices, in fact, were believed to keep the entire cosmos running.
According to Professor Gaving Flood (2009a) from Oxford Centre for Hindu studies in the United Kingdom, the four Vedas were written down in Sanskrit some time during the Vedic Period between 1500 and 500 BCE, although were passed down orally long before that. As noted in the Introduction, the content of these texts originated with the Aryas moving into the Indus Valley, whose civilisation was fully developed by about 2,500 BCE. However, the origins of these texts may have been in the Neolithic period (10,000-4,500 BCE) when humans first began raising crops and keeping livestock rather than relying on hunting (requiring social harmony and group cooperation). The concept of dharma is first mentioned in the Rigveda, where it has been variously translated as “law,” “duty,” “order,” “model,” and “good works,” and is repeated multiple times in later Hindu texts (see below). Dharma has to do with right action and involves moral and religious laws, and so is integral to the Hindu belief system today.
Upanishads
The Upanishads are commentaries on the Vedas and include some of the last portions of the Vedas themselves (called the vendanta, i.e., “conclusion of the vedas”). They are made up of a series of over 200 surviving texts composed in Sanskrit prose or verse between 800 BCE and 100 BCE, of which 14 texts are primary: Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Kaushitaki, Kena, Katha, Isa, Svetasvatara, Mundaka, Prasna, Mandukya, Mahanarayana, and Maitri. The Upanishads include stories to illustrate the Vedic philosophy, rites and rituals, and are foundational theological texts on which many Hindu traditions are based. They were likely written by numerous different Indian sages at different time periods. The word Upanishad (spelled Upanisad in Sanskrit), which translated literally means “at the foot/feet sitting down” (u pa nishat), refers to the student sitting at the feet of the master, receiving secret knowledge.
Upanishad also means “connection,” and the Upanishad texts focus primarily on the connection between the core of the individual person (atman or spiritual Self, soul, or Personal Essence) and celestial entities or forces, emphasising the inter-connectedness of everything in the universe (Olivelle, 1996; 2016). In the Upanishads, the term Brahman is used to describe that eternal, conscious, irreducible, infinite, omnipresent, unchanging, and spiritual core of all that exists (the Universal Essence). This understanding of Brahman reflects the pantheistic view of God in Hinduism, the belief that God is in and about everything, and that the Personal Essence is the Universal Essence (Williams et al, 2012, p 7). Emphasis on looking inward and personal experience, then, became primary.
The Upanishads (specifically, the Aitareya and Chandogya) emphasise four stages of life or ashramas. Stage 1 (ages 0-25 years) focus on training and learning, especially the learning of a profession or trade. This is called the Bramacharya or student stage. Stage 2 (ages 25-50) is the time for raising a family and engaging in work. This is called the Grihastha or householder stage. Stage 3 (ages 50-75) is when a person begins to detach from his this life and focus on the spiritual life to come. This is called the Vanaprastha or retired stage. Stage 4 (ages 75-100) is where a person is nearing or becomes detached from life (often as a monk) and prepares for death and reincarnation. This is called the Sannyasa or renunciation stage (the earliest Upanishads combined the 3rd and 4th stages into one).
Villagers or “householders” spent most of their lives in the first two stages and were distinguished from the brahmins or priestly class, who performed rituals and interpreted the Vedas. There was another group in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, however, who chose early in life to renounce the world and to wander about seeking the truth (rather than wait for the third/fourth stage in old age). Some of these renouncers were to reject the Hindu rituals, ceremonies, and gods, setting the stage for the emergence of Buddhism.
Figure 1. Historical timeline for Hinduism
Indus Valley Civilisation
(2,600-1,600 BCE)
Vedas
(Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda)
(1,700-900 BCEE)
Upanishads
(14 known Upanishads)
(600-100 BCE)
Renouncers, Wanderers, Seekers
(Buddhism begins as an offshoot of Hinduism)
(600-500 BCE)
Epic Period
(Ramayana and Mahabharata)
(400-100 BCE)
Bhagavad Gita
(based on the Mahabharata)
(300-200 BCE)
Rise of Devotional Hinduism
(300-1,000 CE)
Worship in Temples
(500-700 CE)
Residents of India being to refer to themselves as “Hindus”
(1500-1600 CE)
Hinduism as a religion is popularised
(1877 CE)
Ramayana and Mahabharata Epics
The Ramayana is an epic poem (composed around 400-300 BCE) that describes the reincarnation of Brahman (Vishnu) as a human named Rama. Rama was a good person who came to defeat and kill Revana, a demon king who kidnaps Rama’s wife and is the primary antagonist in this poem.
The Mahabharata (composed somewhat later than the Ramayana) is the longest of the epic poems and is about the struggle for sovereignty between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. The Mahabharata is considered to be a text about dharma, which as described above involves the laws of conduct for kings, warriors, and anyone seeking to attain freedom from continual rebirth into nirvana (oneness with Brahman). Brahman is reincarnated as Lord Krishna, and acts in a similar role as Rama in the Ramayana. A popular belief in Hinduism is that when the world becomes bad, Brahman (God) is born into the world as a human people like Rama or Lord Krishna, who comes to guide and protect the community.
Bhagavad Gita (or simply “Gita”)
The Bhagavad Gita (“Song of God”) is part of the Mahabharata epic poem (chapters 23 to 40 of Book VI) and is based on the Vedas and Upanishads. It was thought to have been added to or expanded out of the Mahabharata in around the 3rd century BCE. However, the Gita was not actually written down in Sanskrit until around 100-200 CE (Doniger, 2015). Some Hindu traditionalists claim it existed as early as the 4th millennium BCE. Indeed, although considered part of the Mahabharata, the Gita is quite different from the rest of the epic and may have originated from elsewhere. It was translated from Sanskrit into English around 1795 by Sir Charles Wilkinds (Violatti, 2013). The Gita is a relatively brief volume containing approximately 700 verses in 18 short chapters, making it much more assessable to a general audience than other primary Hindu texts.
Because of its brevity and accessibility, the Bhagavad Gita is the most widely known and loved of all Hindu sacred scriptures. While the Vedas are considered the philosophical and ritualistic parts of Hinduism, the Gita is considered the heart of this faith tradition, containing religious aspects that make up its core. Indeed, the Gita not only addresses the topic of how to live, the duty to self, and the duty to community, but also describes two characteristics of Brahman or God as viewed by Hindus (see below). Mahatma Gandhi, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau are said to have used the Bhagavad Gita as a primary reference, and the British in India during the 19th century claimed it was the Hindu equivalent of the New Testament (Doniger, 2015). The focus of the text has been described as “the search for serenity, calmness, and permanence in a world of rapid change and how to integrate spiritual values into ordinary life” (Violatti, 2013). Translator W.J. Johnson (1994, p i) calls it “the most widely read Hindu religious text in the Western world.”
The historical setting of the Bhagavad Gita is important to note. The Gita emerged at a time in history when Hinduism was being challenged and divided into splinter groups. These new religious groups (Jains and Buddhists) were pushing for an ascetic lifestyle that emphasised the withdrawal from society, including withdrawal from family, possessions, and occupation (renouncers, wanderers, truth-seekers, as noted above). The Gita, however, argues that one can engage in a spiritual life based on actions in the world (dharma) without withdrawing from the world (i.e., entering into eternal existence or sanatana). Just as in Christianity, then, there is a tension between “works” and “faith.”
With regard to the Bhagavad Gita’s content, this sacred scripture involves a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. Lord Krishna is considered (like Rama before him) to be an avatar or incarnation of Brahman (Vishnu), the One Supreme God. Arjuna was a great archer and member of the warrior class (Kshatriyas). His duty was to lead the Pandavas into battle against the Kauravas (warring cousins, see Mahabharata epic above). Lord Krishna comes into the world in the form of Arjuna’s charioteer / body guard / court historian. Before the battle begins, Arjuna realises that the fight will involve killing his relatives, teachers, and friends (the Kauravas), and so rather than kill those he loves and thereby incur bad karma, he throws down his arrows and quits. His charioteer Lord Krishna consoles and advises him, emphasising that it is his duty as a warrior to engage in battle. Our of this conversation come many of the basic tenets of Hinduism.
Conclusions
The most sacred Hindu texts are the Vedas, Upanishads, and the great Epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. The earliest scriptures on which Hinduism is based are the four Veda texts, the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, and the Atharvaveda. The earliest of these (the Rigveda) were written down over 3000 years ago at some time during the second millennium before the common era (BCE), and likely transmitted orally long before that. The Vedas primarily consist of hymns, chants, and incantations involved in the offering of sacrifices. Sacrifices were at first made to Indira, the god of the sacrificial fire or Surya, the sun god. The gods were expected to reciprocate by providing prosperity to those for whom the sacrifices were being offered. The Upanishads are commentaries on the Vedas that illustrate the Vedic philosophy and theology. Based on the Vedas and the Upanishads, the most recent Hindu scripture is the Bhagavad Gita that emerged from the Mahabharata epic in the second or third century BCE, but was not written down until the second or third century CE. The Bhagavad Gita is the most widely read and loved of all the Hindu scriptures.