We show you in a list the most popular Hindu Mythology Books. Get to know their most outstanding titles and their content.
Hindu Mythology Books
Since ancient times, dating back to 8000 B.C., many historians have discovered sacred texts all over India. These books are very varied, there are the main sacred books and other written records; they are characterized by the fact that they are classified according to their use and content.
It is believed that the main books of Hindu mythology are the Vedas, from which all the other sacred written records of India originate. These texts are more than 4000 years old and have had a great influence in Hindu life as well as worldwide.
Despite the existence of a great variety of Hindu sacred texts, they are mainly classified according to their content and origin: vedas, upanishads, puranas, ramayanas, among others.
Types of Hindu Mythology Books
In Hindu mythology, there are mainly two types of sacred texts. Those called “Shruti”, which means “that which is heard”; and those called “Smriti”, which means “that which is remembered” .
At first, the content of these sacred books was transmitted orally; originally it was from master to disciple. Then it was transmitted from generation to generation by all the Hindu people, until the appearance of the sacred books.
Shruti Books of Hindu Mythology
The Shruti books, contain the ancient holy men belonging to Hindu mythology. In them they describe how these holy men led a life full of solitude, and only dedicated themselves to meditation in very secluded places.
Its meaning “what is heard”, is due to the fact that the content of these texts was the product of the knowledge that the sages heard directly from the gods. However, it is believed that the Shruti books are not the direct work of man.
Rather, their origin was by direct revelation from the “Devas” to men. These sacred texts of Hindu mythology are universal; they cannot be interpreted, but must be followed exactly as they are.
Thanks to the meditations of holy men, they were able to develop a kind of super-consciousness where they were able to “hear the truths of the universe”. The Shruti books are classified into the texts: vedas and upanishads.
The Veda
They are ancient mystical texts of Hindu mythology, which contain incantations, different mythological accounts of their history and the wonderful formulas to reach enlightenment based on their beliefs.
Its name comes from the word “veda”, which means “knowledge of the supreme truth” . In the veda books are contained the laws of natural and divine origin, which were established by the Hindu trinity, Brahman, Vishnu and Shiva, as well as Brahma and Dharma.
Even today it is not clear who were the authors of the veda. However, within their beliefs is the fact that the veda were revealed to the Hindu sages. They transmitted this knowledge for a hundred years orally for generations, until it was finally codified and written down.
The Vedas are the most sacred texts of Hindu mythology, and are even considered to be the oldest religious books in the world. They are more than 3500 years old, and contain in their four volumes: incantations, hymns, mythological tales and formulas for spiritual enlightenment.
They are classified in four books: Rig veda, Sama veda, Yajur veda and Atharva veda. And these four veda books are in turn subclassified into four other texts: Samhitas, which contains hymns; Brahmanas, which is full of rituals; Aranyakas, which deals with theology; and Upanishads, which deal with philosophy.
1.- Rig veda
The Rig Veda is the oldest book of the four vedas. Its name means “knowledge of the hymns of praise”, at the same time it is considered the most important and influential over the other sacred texts of Hindu mythology.
In its content the Rig veda is composed of 1028 hymns, which in turn are subdivided into 10 books called “mandalas”; these are used to perform prayers and prayers. Each mandala is composed of different verses, these are individual and are called “rich”; hence the origin of its name “Rig veda”.
The Rig veda is an important revelation of Vedic history. Among its most prominent hymns are the “purusha sukta”, which describes the spiritual unity of the universe; and the “Nasadiya sukta”, which is commonly called the hymn of creation.
According to various philosophical and linguistic studies, the Rig veda is believed to date back to the years 1500 and 1200 B.C. The main gods that appear in its contents are: Agni, god of sacrifice; Indra, heroic god; and Soma or the sacred potion. Its main English translation was made by Ralph T. H. Griffith in 1896.
2.- Sama veda
It is considered “the veda book of chanting”, it is a sacred Sanskrit text of Hindu mythology. All the texts contained in the Sama veda come from the Rig veda; the difference is that in its content melodies are included so that its hymns can be sung in special ceremonies.
Its origin dates from the II millennium B.C., and has a total of 1810 stanzas; called “rik”, of which a total of 1549 stanzas are copied from the “Sakala Sakha” of the Rig veda book. Another 75 stanzas are copied from the “Bashkala Sakha” of the Rig veda book. And the missing 186 stanzas are repetitions of the previous stanzas.
The Sama veda is divided into two main parts: the Purva’Archika, which consists of the first worship; and the Uttar’Archika, which is the second worship but includes special verses for the gods Agni, Indra and Soma.
According to the investigations of the sanskritologist Ralph Griffin, of British origin; he indicates that there are three recensions of the Sama veda book: the Kauthuma, used in Guyarat; the Yaiminíia, known in Karnataka and Keralá; and the Ranaianíia, which is very well known in the whole region of Maharatta.
3.- Yahur veda
The name Yahur veda means “knowledge of melodies”; its content is concentrated on aspects of liturgy and ritual. Its origin dates back to the Vedic period, and it is estimated to have appeared between the 15th and 5th centuries BC.
The Yahur veda contains hymns mostly from the Rig veda book. It is mainly about rituals and sacrifices, focused on honoring the fire god Agni.
It is divided into 40 chapters with 303 anuvakas, which in turn are subdivided into 1975 sections. This sacred text was designed especially for Hindu priests; they use it in their special activities such as rites, ceremonies and sacrifices.
There are two versions of the Yahur veda: the “Krisna-yahur-veda”, which is called the black Yahur veda; and the “Shukla-yajur-veda”, the so-called white yahur veda although it is also known as Vayasanei-samjita.
4.- Atharva veda
It is the last and most recent of the sacred veda books of Hindu mythology, its name means “knowledge of magic formulas”. The Atharva veda is very different from the other three veda books, its content is much more folkloric and is full of incantations, magic formulas and spells.
The purpose of the use of its contents is mainly aimed at: attracting lovers, avoiding diseases, death, protection or cause of damage, incantations against evil spirits and cure of diseases caused by evil beings.
The origin of this book is still not very clear, according to linguistic studies the Atharva veda was written in the classical “mantra” period of Vedic Sanskrit; which places it in the second millennium B.C. However, in the first writing of the Atharva veda reference is made to iron; which places it in the early Hindu iron age.
As for its author, according to the beliefs of Hindu mythology it is attributed to the mythical sage Atharvan; he was the first to institute the sacrifice of fire and also the beginning of the consumption of the psychotropic drug soma.
The content of the book of the Atharva veda is dedicated to Brahman. It has exactly 731 verses, and its hymns are composed; they are a mixture of magical formulas and incantations, which help to counteract diseases and calamities of mythical origin.
Texts of the veda books
- Samhita: It is the text of the hymns, its name means “united” in the Sanskrit language. The Samhita text is a subclassification of the Rig veda book; within its content it can refer to Vedic texts such as the four vedas or the Samhita Patha. And to post Vedic texts such as Gherand, Charak, Ashtavakra, Bhrigu, Yoga Yajnavalkya, Brahma and Garga; all with the Samhita ending.
- Brahmana: The Brahmana is the text of rituals, and is a sub-classification of the Sama veda book. Its content is based mainly on the explanation of fire sacrifices and types of Vedic rituals. Its origin dates back to the Brahmanical period, approximately between 900 and 500 B.C. however, only fragments of this text have survived today.
- Araniaka: represents the Sanskrit text related to the Yahur veda book. Its content focuses on theology. Its name means “text of the forests”; it was used by saints, also called sadhu, to leave the world and live in nature.
- Upanishads: is a more recent text than the vedas and is related to the Atharva veda. Its content is focused on the origin of the universe, God, meditation and philosophy. Its origin is between the 7th century B.C. and the 20th century A.D.; there are approximately 150 types of Upanishads, mostly written in prose and a large part in verse.
Smriti Books of Hindu Mythology
Smriti books are a set of Sanskrit texts of Hindu mythology. The word Smriti means “to memorize”; for this reason the Smriti books were made to remember everything sacred Hindu through the poetry and epics of their writings.
They are very popular throughout India for their easy to understand content, these books have as main objective to explain the truths of the universe through symbols. They are mainly classified into the sacred texts of: Ramayana, Purana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita.
However, there are also other texts that belong to the Smriti books, such as the Itihasa, Agamas and Darshanas. These books are considered the traditional texts accepted by Hinduism as Vedic literature. They are texts that were not directly revealed by God, but rather emerged from the knowledge that was transmitted through generations.
The Ramayana
It is an epic text and one of the most important literary works of Hindu mythology, which has its origin in the third century BC; its author was the writer Välmïki.
It is composed of 24000 verses, which in turn are divided into 7 volumes. Its name in the Hindu language refers to Räma, which means “pleasure” and is connected with the Hindu god of that name. And äyana, which means “march”.
The Ramayana contains the teachings of India and had a great influence on Sanskrit poetry. Its influence is also reflected in the culture, art, literature and architecture of many areas such as Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, among others.
The Puranas
They contain a series of stories that talk about the Hindu gods, kings and major heroes of Hindu mythology. The main theme of the Purana texts is about the origin of the universe, destruction, humanity and the genealogy of the divinities.
The presentation of their texts is expressed as stories, which are told from one person to another. According to Hindu beliefs, the author of the Puranas was the mythical writer Viasa.
Because the Puranas are originally in Sanskrit, they are not very accessible to the common man as reading texts. However, there are now translations of some of their texts in various languages; as well as many are disseminated by Brahmana scholars.
The appearance of these Purana texts dates back to the Gupta period, approximately between 300 and 500 A.D. The structure of their content is a “pancha-laksana typology”, which in Sanskrit means “five distinctive marks” .
The first part is Sarga, which deals with the creation of the universe; the second Pratisarga, all the secondary creations; the third is Vamsha, containing the genealogy of the gods, kings and sages of Hindu mythology.
The fourth part is Manu-antara, in this part describes the creation of the human race and indicates which were the first humans; and the fifth is Vamsha-anucharitam, which contains the history of the dynasties.
These texts are composed of 18 major Puranas, called Majapuranas; and 18 minor Puranas, called Upa Puranas. The Majapuranas are classified in groups of 6, where 6 belong to Guna meaning quality; 6 are of sattva meaning goodness; 6 to rajas meaning passion and 6 belong to ramas meaning ignorance.
The Upapuranas are secondary texts of the Majapuranas; they are subclassified in three parts: Sanat-kumara-purana, Narasimha-purana and Brijan-naradia-purana.
The Mahabharata
Originating in the 3rd century B.C., it is a very extensive epic book of Hindu mythology. Even today, it is not known exactly who its author was; however, according to Hindu beliefs it was narrated by the mythical writer Vyasa.
The Mahabharata is an epic poem, its name means “Great War”; its content revolves around the struggle of the Pandava and Kauravas dynasties for the throne. This book is very famous all over India, and some even call it “the fifth veda book”.
Its stories are full of ethical and moral lessons, anecdotes, parables and discourses, which perfectly describe the way of being and lifestyle of the inhabitants of India at that time.
The complete version of the Mahabharata is composed of 200,000 verses written in the Sanskrit language. Even this Hindu text is four times longer than the Bible and is also eight times longer than the books of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined.
The Mahabharata is written in 18 books in total: Adi-parva, Sabha-parva, Araniaka-parva, Virata-parva, Udioga-parva, Bhishma-parva, Drona-parva, Karna-parva, Salia-parva, Sauptica-parva, Stri-parva, Shanti-parva, Anushasana-parva, Asuamedhika-parva, Ásrama-vásika-parva, Mausala-parva, Majá-prasthánika-parva and Suarga-arojana-parva.
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important sacred texts of Hindu mythology and its name has the meaning “cane of the Lord”; it is even considered an important religious classic worldwide.
It is part of the Mahabharata, although its exact date of origin is unknown; it is believed to have been composed around 3100 B.C. It is also called “Gitopanisad”, and in some occasions it is called “logopanishad”.
The Bhagavad Gita occupies 18 chapters in the book of the Mahabharata, which are exactly from chapter 25 to 42; and it is composed of 700 verses in total. Its main theme is a conversation that Krisna, considered a reincarnation of the god Vishnu, had with Aryuna, where he explains his duties as a warrior and as a prince.
Within this story is enclosed the explanation of the five basic truths of Hinduism: Íshuara, yiva-atma, prakrti, karma and kala.
Other Smriti texts
- Itihasa: are the texts called “purva-vritta”, which means “events of the past”. The Itihasa books are all those that narrate stories about India’s epic past and have a ritual significance within their culture.
- Agama: is the definition of the group of texts belonging to the Buddhist, Hindu and Yaina scriptures. These Agama texts were translated from the Pali language into the Chinese language.
- Darshana: its name means “vision or apparition”, it is called this way to the group of schools of doctrines that exist in the Hindu mythology: vedanta, yoga, sankhia, mimansa, niaiá and vaisesika. And they generally complement each other in pairs.
Other sacred texts of Hindu mythology
- Tevaram: is the name given to the first seven volumes of the Tirumurai; which is a collection consisting of twelve volumes that belong to the shivaist poetry. These volumes became hymns, which even today are part of the liturgy of the temples.
- Divya prabhanda: is the collection of the 4000 poems originally composed for the twelve Alvar poets, who were Vishnuists who helped to revive Hinduism during the 7th and 10th centuries, even today these hymns are still sung.
- Gita Govinda: dates from the 12th century, and was written by the great Hindu poet Orisano Yala. It is an erotic-mystical poem composed of twelve chapters, each subdivided into 24 prabhanda. It talks about Krisná’s adolescence and his experience with the gopis.
- Charaka-samhita: is a Hindu text that deals with ayurveda, which means “traditional Indian medicine”; it dates from the second century A.D. Its main teaching is that health and disease do not come from karma, but from the care and lifestyle of each human being.
- Kama-Sutra: is one of the oldest texts of Hindu mythology, and deals with human sexual behavior; it was written by Vatsiaiana. Its original title is Vatsyayana kama Sutra, which means “Vatsiaiana’s aphorisms on sexuality”.
Conclusion
Hinduism has a very extensive and complex religion; this is also reflected in its texts. Each one of them has a great extension of other books and written records that contain all the history and mythology of India.
The books of Hindu mythology are very old. In them are present all their deities, mystical beings and creatures. They do not depend on a single book, each of them has a classification of other texts that complement them; and at the same time all the texts are connected.
They are well known to all Hindu inhabitants, both children and adults; they are even often depicted in cartoons. They represent in their content the morals and ethics that identify the Hindu culture, and have been passed down through generations to the present day.
