A Journey through Hindu Scriptures: Bhagavad-Gita, Puranas, Manu-smriti, Brahma-sutras, Darshanas, Tantra, and Shivagama

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About A Journey Through Hindu

Hinduism is unique in the sense that, not only it is the most ancient continuously practiced religion, but also has the most amount of sacred material than any other religion. The sacred Hindu scriptures are placed into three categories, namely Shruti, Smriti, and a subsidiary category. Shruti scriptures are the Vedas including the Upanishads. Shruti texts are the most sacred Hindu scriptures. A brief review of the Shruti scriptures is given in another of my books. This book is a brief review of the Smriti texts and the subsidiary category texts. Smriti means what is remembered. The scriptures belonging to smriti category have secondary authority only. There is a multitude of smriti texts. The main scriptures that come under smriti texts are: The two great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata (Bhagavad-Gita is part of Mahabharata), Puranas, and Dharma Shastras. The subsidiary category includes Darshanas, Tantras, and Shivagamas. Darshanas are the six philosophical systems that are based on the Vedas and developed by six sages. The Darshana scriptures are called Dharma-sutras. The most famous of the sutras is the Brahma-sutras. Another set of scriptures, parallel to the Vedic scriptures, is called Tantra. The Tantric literature mainly consists that of Shaktism. Shivagamas are the basic scriptures of the Shaivas. In this second edition book, new articles have been included, Vishnu Purana has been vastly expanded, and many other articles have been improved.