Smriti

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Hindu texts

Śruti - Vedas Samhitas *Rig Veda *Sama Veda *Yajur Veda *Atharva Veda Brāhmaņas Āraņyakas Upanishads Smriti Itihasas *Mahābhārata **Bhagavad Gītā *Ramayana Puranas (List) Tantras Sutras (List) Stotras This box: [ view] • [ talk] • [ edit]

Smriti (Sanskrit स्मॄति, "that which is remembered") refers to a specific body of Hindu religious scripture. Smriti also denotes non-Shruti texts generally, seen as secondary in authority to Shruti.

Categorization

Classifying the Smriti has been a contentious issue, even the names of proposed categories are debated. One such taxonomy follows:

1. Dharmasastra or the laws. This is represented by 18 books. Each book corresponds to an age of time.
2. Itihasa or the histories. This is represented by 4 books. It includes the Mahakavyas, or Epics Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
3. Purana or the writings. This is represented by 18 books. They are secondary scriptures that mainly focus on Vishnu or Shiva as the preferred supreme Deity.
4. Sutras or proverbs. This is represented by 6 categories of documents: the Shiksha, Vyakarana, Chandas, Nirukta, Jyotisha, & Kalpa.
5. Agama or the doctrines. There are three major divisions by doctrine: the Vaisnava, Saiva, and Sakta. Another way of grouping them is by Mantra, Tantra, and Yantra.
6. Darsana (aka Dyasana) or philosophies. This is represented by 6 schools of thought: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa, & Uttara Mimamsa (aka Vedanta).

See also

• Yuga Dharma
• Śruti (scripture)
• Smarta

External links

• [Arsha Vidya Gurukulam]
• [Sanskrit site with comprehensive library of texts]

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