THE SACRED HINDU BOOKS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
                     THE SACRED HINDU BOOKS – A QUICK 
OVERVIEW
Geetha Kumari
Writes for Hindueshop – Dharmik book store.
RSS books from Hindueshop and books on history, polity and 
economics are popular.
 
Hinduism the Indian religion has over 1.25 billion followers, who follow 
the dharma or the Hindu way of life. There are several sacred books in 
Hinduism and this article strives to briefly focus upon the most significant 
of those holy texts – the Vedas, the Puranas, and the Itihasas. In this 
article, a summary of these sacred Hindu books has been provided.
The Vedas
The Vedas are four in number, each of the Veda has further subdivisions. 
The names of these holy books that are collectively called Vedas are – Rig 
Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda. The Vedas are 
considered the most sacred books of Hinduism.
Slide 2 of 10
 We have four types of Vedas: The Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur 
Veda, and the Atharva Veda.
 The Hindus consider the four Vedas to be holy texts that are eternal 
and that haven’t been written by any human. It is believed that the 
Vedas have directly been revealed to the sages, who then passed this 
knowledge to subsequent generations.
 The Vedas, which are one of the oldest books of Hinduism, include 
various incantations, hymns, and rituals. Apart from the spiritual 
relevance, the Vedas provide a clear understanding of the daily life of 
India almost five thousand years back.
 The Rig Veda is considered to be the oldest of all the Vedas.
Slide 3 of 10
Each Veda has sub-parts or subdivisions books 
Each of the Vedas has several components – the Samhitas, the 
Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and the Upanishads. let us have a brief look at the 
above-mentioned components of the holy books – the Vedas
• The Vedas have the mantra texts which are termed Samhitas.
• The prose texts that vividly detail the hymns of the Vedas are called 
the Brahmanas. The Brahmanas also throw light on the Sanskrit words 
that are there in every Veda. These works contain the stipulations and 
guidelines related to the observance of rites and rituals described in 
the Vedas, too.
Slide 4 of 10
 The Aranyakas, the other name of which is “Forest Books,” interpret 
the many sacrificial rituals in a detailed manner.
 The Upanishads are a compilation of numerous texts that elaborate on 
various important philosophical facets of the religion. The Upanishads 
are considered as the extension of the Vedas and which clearly 
explains the way the Atma (soul) can get merged with the Brahman 
(the supreme cosmic source).
The Puranas 
The Puranas are a huge collection of many Hindu holy books or texts that 
cover many topics. The inspirational characters from the Puranas show 
Hindus the goals to pursue.
Slide 5 of 10
 Most of the Puranas are written in Sanskrit and they are dedicated to 
important deities of Hinduism. Shiva Purana and Vishnu Purana are 
examples of the Puranas.
 Cosmology, cosmogony, stories about gods, goddesses, demigods, and 
sages are included in the Puranas.
 The religion has 18 Maha Puranas that contain more than 400,000 
verses.
 In terms of popularity and acceptance, the Bhagavata Purana holds the 
top position among the Hindus.
Slide 6 of 10
The Itihasas – The Ramayana and The Mahabharata
An article on the sacred books of Hinduism would remain incomplete if it 
does not make a mention of the two great epics: The Ramayana and the 
Mahabharata.
 The Ramayana has the respected characters in Hinduism – Rama and 
Sita.
 The Ramayana, through the story of Lord Rama, conveys significant 
moral values that stood the test of time. These values are relevant even 
today.
Slide 7 of 10
 The Mahabharata describes the clash between the cousins Pandavas 
and the Kauravas. On one side are the competent and righteous 
Pandavas and on the other side are the materialistic Kauravas who do 
not hesitate to resort to unethical means for material gains. Despite 
good advice, Kauravas continue their bad behaviour and which leads to 
the great Kurukshetra war. Even this epic stresses many noble truths 
that hold good even in the modern-day.
The sacred Hindu books are a vast ocean of Starting from the ancient 
times and continuing even till now, several scholars have been writing 
translations and commentaries with their interpretations of the sacred 
Hindu books. Through these modern translations, the core message is 
made understood by the person of today’s generation.
Slide 8 of 10
About Hindueshop
Hindueshop offers national oriented books and articles since 2019. It is a 
matter of great pride and privilege for us to present the tenets of 
Sanatana Dharma and bharat’s great cultural heritage and glorious 
traditions to the world. For this, we chose and took upon ourselves the 
task of offering books related to dharma, vedic culture, national security 
and awareness, sociology, history, education, polity, economics, science 
technology. We offer books on significant contemporary issues. We also 
offer confidence building literature for children and youth with a view to 
equip them with cultural and social values with a clear understanding of 
our past. Our mission is to promote national awareness, confidence and 
pride to make ‘Bharat’ a culturally vibrant and strong nation.
Slide 9 of 10
Thank you for time in reading this article!
Slide 10 of 10