Vedas
Sanskrit sacred hymns
The Vedas are the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, composed in ancient Sanskrit and transmitted orally for centuries before being written down.
The four Vedas—Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda—contain hymns, rituals, and philosophical teachings that form the foundation of Hindu religious thought.
Vedic describes anything derived from or relating to these texts: Vedic chants, Vedic tradition.
Vedic philosophical scriptures
- SanskritAncient Indo-Aryan language
- hymnsReligious songs of worship
- versesLines of poetry
- recitationOral delivery from memory
transmission · oral tradition · compilation · canon · anthology · codification
Vedic flame deity
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- altarSacred ritual table
- offeringsThings presented or given
- libationCeremonial drink offering
chanting · mantras · priest · invocation · consecration · purification · fire ceremony · oblation
Vedic king of deities
- AgniVedic flame deity
- VishnuHindu deity of preservation
- SaraswatiHindu goddess of wisdom
- invocationsAppeals to higher powers
Hindu priestly caste
- RishiSanskrit name meaning sage
- sagesProfoundly learned people
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- initiationFormal admission ceremony
studentship · memorization · preservation · disciples · teaching · hereditary · Aryans · Indo-Aryan
Upanishads
Vedic philosophical scriptures
recitation · transmission · oral tradition · compilation · canon · anthology · codification
Agni
Vedic flame deity
libation · chanting · mantras · priest · invocation · consecration · purification · fire ceremony · oblation · sacred fire
Indra
Vedic king of deities
invocations · pantheon · divine · celestial
Brahmins
Hindu priestly caste
initiation · studentship · memorization · preservation · disciples · teaching · hereditary · Aryans · Indo-Aryan
Brahman
Supreme cosmic reality
Karma · cosmology · metaphysics · Advaita · epistemology · ontology · ethics · truth · reality · consciousness
- Indian ScripturesUpanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Shruti
- religious textsBible, scriptures, Bible translations, Gospels, Koran
- Hindu ScripturesUpanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Shruti
- Hindu textsUpanishads, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, Smritis
- Indian Poetrypad, Tagore, masnavi, Thirukkural, Upanishads
- Mimamsashruti
VedasQuran
Islam's central scripture
Bible · Torah · Tao Te Ching · Guru Granth Sahib · Book of Mormon
Vedasscientific method
Structured process for investigation
empiricism · rationalism · materialism · historical criticism