Sacred Texts
Discover the timeless wisdom of Hindu scriptures and sacred literature
Vedas
4 texts
Rigveda
The Rigveda is the oldest and most important of the four Vedas, consisting of 1,028 hymns (suktas) o...
Yajurveda
The Yajurveda is the Veda of liturgical formulas and ritual worship. It provides the practical proce...
Samaveda
The Samaveda is the Veda of melodies and chants, often called the 'Book of Songs.' Most of its verse...
Atharvaveda
The Atharvaveda is the fourth Veda, named after the sage Atharvan. Unlike the other three Vedas whic...
Upanishads
10 texts
Isha Upanishad
The Isha Upanishad, also known as Ishopanishad, is one of the shortest yet most profound Upanishads...
Kena Upanishad
The Kena Upanishad derives its name from the opening word 'Kena' meaning 'by whom.' It belongs to th...
Katha Upanishad
The Katha Upanishad narrates the dialogue between the young boy Nachiketa and Yama, the god of death...
Prashna Upanishad
The Prashna Upanishad is structured as six questions posed by six seekers to the sage Pippalada. Eac...
Mundaka Upanishad
The Mundaka Upanishad is celebrated for its distinction between higher knowledge (Para Vidya) leadin...
Mandukya Upanishad
The Mandukya Upanishad is the shortest of all principal Upanishads with only 12 verses, yet Gaudapad...
Taittiriya Upanishad
The Taittiriya Upanishad belongs to the Krishna Yajurveda and is divided into three sections: Shiksh...
Aitareya Upanishad
The Aitareya Upanishad belongs to the Rigveda tradition and is attributed to sage Mahidasa Aitareya....
Chandogya Upanishad
The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the oldest and largest Upanishads, belonging to the Samaveda tradi...
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is the largest and one of the oldest Upanishads, forming the concluding...
Puranas
18 texts
Brahma Purana
The Brahma Purana is traditionally considered the first of the eighteen Mahapuranas. Also known as t...
Padma Purana
The Padma Purana is the second of the eighteen Mahapuranas, named after the lotus (padma) that emerg...
Vishnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana is one of the most important of the eighteen Mahapuranas and is considered a model...
Shiva Purana
The Shiva Purana is dedicated to Lord Shiva and presents him as the supreme deity. It contains appro...
Srimad Bhagavata Purana
The Srimad Bhagavata Purana (Bhagavatam) is widely regarded as the most popular and influential of a...
Narada Purana
The Narada Purana is attributed to the divine sage Narada, the celestial musician and eternal devote...
Markandeya Purana
The Markandeya Purana is narrated by the ancient sage Markandeya to his disciple Kraustuki. With app...
Agni Purana
The Agni Purana is narrated by the fire god Agni to the sage Vasishtha and is the most encyclopedic...
Bhavishya Purana
The Bhavishya Purana is unique among the Mahapuranas for its prophetic character, as its name litera...
Brahma Vaivarta Purana
The Brahma Vaivarta Purana focuses on the creative transformations (vaivarta) of Brahma and is prima...
Linga Purana
The Linga Purana is a Shaivite text that centers on the worship of Lord Shiva in his Linga form. It...
Varaha Purana
The Varaha Purana is narrated by Lord Vishnu in his Varaha (boar) avatar to the Earth Goddess (Bhude...
Skanda Purana
The Skanda Purana is the largest of all the Mahapuranas with approximately 81,100 verses, named afte...
Vamana Purana
The Vamana Purana is named after Lord Vishnu's Vamana (dwarf) avatar and contains approximately 10,0...
Kurma Purana
The Kurma Purana is narrated by Lord Vishnu in his Kurma (tortoise) avatar to the sage Narada and ot...
Matsya Purana
The Matsya Purana is narrated by Lord Vishnu in his Matsya (fish) avatar to Manu during the great fl...
Garuda Purana
The Garuda Purana is narrated by Lord Vishnu to his divine vehicle Garuda (the king of birds) and co...
Brahmanda Purana
The Brahmanda Purana derives its name from the cosmic egg (Brahmanda) from which the universe emerge...
Epics
2 texts
Ramayana
The Ramayana is one of the two great Indian epics, composed by the sage Valmiki in approximately 24,...
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem ever written, containing approximately 100,000 verses (shlo...
Gita
1 texts
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita ('Song of God') is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that forms part of the Indian epic...
Other
5 texts
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is the foundational text of Raja Yoga (the royal path of yoga), consist...
Brahma Sutras
The Brahma Sutras (also known as Vedanta Sutras) are 555 aphorisms composed by Badarayana (tradition...
Ramacharitmanas
The Ramacharitmanas ('Lake of the Deeds of Rama') is a retelling of the Ramayana in Awadhi (a Hindi...
Devi Mahatmyam
The Devi Mahatmyam ('Glory of the Goddess'), also known as Durga Saptashati or Chandi Path, is a 700...
Vishnu Sahasranama
The Vishnu Sahasranama ('Thousand Names of Vishnu') is a devotional hymn containing 1,000 names of L...