Scriptures of Hinduism

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Page from a manuscript of Kashmiri Shaivism

Hindu scriptures called the literature of Hinduism , one in the Hindu traditions religious has function. In addition to written certificates, there are also oral texts. These writings and texts have z. B. a ritual function, contain religious ideas and concepts, and many of them are considered sacred. The term scriptures is not Hindu and comes from Western terminology.

The scriptures that are considered holy and the orally transmitted texts do not form a uniform group. What they have in common is that religious groups regard them as sacred. The form as well as the content and use differ in the various groups.

There are different classifications of scriptures in Hinduism. This means that the classification under certain categories is not uniform. In addition, many scriptures cannot be dated. Many have not yet been edited, and translations into Western languages ​​are often not available either.

history

The scriptures of Hinduism are classified according to religious-historical epochs. The Vedic epoch lasted from about 1750 to 500 BC. BC, the epoch of ascetic reformism from approx. 500 to 200 BC BC, the epoch of classical Hinduism from approx. 200 BC. AD to approx. 1100 AD, the epoch of sectarian Hinduism from approx. 1100 to 1850 AD and modern Hinduism emerged from 1850.

Sanskrit scriptures and scriptures in vernacular languages

Hindu scriptures, along with Sanskrit literature , were widely written in all Indian languages . The first texts handed down in popular languages ​​come from the Bhakti movement, since here the Brahmanic rituals and Brahmanic Sanskrit texts were no longer of great importance in relation to religiosity. These texts are Tamil poetry of the 6th century, but it can be assumed that vernacular scripts existed earlier.

Many Hindu scriptures are in verse , but there are also many prose texts . For example, mantras of Yajurveda and the Brahmanas are in prose. These texts are the first prose texts in India.

A frequently used form of verse are the shlokas . These contain 32 syllables in four stanzas .

In vernacular literature, most of it has been written in verse; B. the Bhakti poetry. It was not until the 19th century that prose was also used. Around 1816, Rammohan Roy published prose texts dealing with religious issues in English and in Bengali . Other writers, such as the Vishnuit sect founder Swaminarayan and the reformer Dayananda Saraswati , then wrote texts on religious issues.

Shruti and Smriti

Different Indian fonts

Shruti and Smriti are categories that go back to Friedrich Max Müller and represent a simplified classification in terms of linguistics and for formal reasons. Nevertheless, it is still used today. Shruti refers to the Vedas that are considered revelations to Rishis . Smriti refers to the later scriptures that were written by humans.

Since the scope of the Vedas is not defined uniformly, Shruti sometimes also refers to non-Vedic texts, e.g. B. Buddhist and Jain texts.

Smriti include according to certain classifications z. B. the Mahabharata , the Ramayana , Dharmashastras, the Puranas , Agamas and Tantric scriptures. Other orders include the entire post-Vedic Sanskrit literature to Smriti. Sometimes only the Vedangas are included.

Writings of ascetic reformism

With the advent of Middle Indian (6th century BC to 11th century) the Hindu scriptures changed. The sutras referring to the Shruti scriptures were new . Sutras are guidelines that explain the Vedic sacrifice, expand it and put it into a system. These sutras are counted among the Vedangas, the "six limbs of the Veda", but their origin is largely post-Buddhist. The Vedangas are the origin of Indian science. Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads were also written down during this period, but they have their roots in the Vedic epoch.

Kalpasutras often contain regulations for Brahmins and deal with the sacrificial rituals. Srautasutras also deal with sacrificial rituals and special sutras such as Sulvasutras contain e.g. B. also instructions for the creation of sacrificial sites. Grhyasutras contain rules for domestic rituals and duties, while Dharmasutras deal generally with law and morality.

Classical Hindu Scriptures

Classical Hinduism describes an epoch in which classical Sanskrit literature developed.

The Puranas of this era include mythology , hagiographies , cosmology , genealogies , scientific, historical, and legal writings. They also contain texts on music, dance, iconography and astrology, for example . The origins of the Puranas are oral, they were written down mainly from the Gupta period . The Puranas can be found in India in many versions and variants, so that an exact dating is not possible.

The Puranas are written in metric Sanskrit and are the most important source for Indian mythology. They are already shaped by sectarian Hinduism and one of the main gods usually appears as the most important topic.

In this epoch, complex writings on the aesthetics of art, music, poetry and dance were written among educated Brahmins, and plays, poetry and novels were promoted in the courts. Likewise, sayings, stories and fables were created here, some of which were intended for teaching. At this time, the Brahmins already had the authority to interpret religion, philosophy, art and sciences and they collected myths, folk tales and fairy tales and wrote certain poems.

For other writings, which date from this period to a large extent and which are available in great abundance, Brahmins were no longer exclusively the authors. In addition to the Puranas, z. B. hymns (e.g. stotras ), agamas , guides and manuals ( shastras , sutras ), tantras , samhitas , mahatmyas and a plethora of other scriptures.

In the time of classical Hinduism, cults around individual gods such as Shiva , Krishna , Vishnu or individual goddesses emerged. The corresponding scriptures are theistically oriented and are recited and performed as song. Such communities are for example the Alvars , the Bhagavats, Shaivasiddhanta and the Kashmiri Shaivism . The writings of these sects are directed against the Veda as the (sole) authority, but they emphasize initiation ( Diksha ) and spiritual practice ( Sadhana ).

Sectarian Hindu Scriptures

Sectarian Hinduism refers to directions in Hinduism that began to emerge from the 10th century. The writings of the followers and sects are largely in vernacular rather than Sanskrit and often refer to local traditions and followers. The Virashaivas, for example, wrote their works in the South Indian language Kannarese . Another peculiarity of this epoch is that saints and poets are mostly no longer Brahmins and their texts are often directed against the Vedas. Likewise, many Sanskrit texts were copied in popular languages. The Brahmins of the period, on the other hand, wrote commentaries on the scriptures and developed an elaborate dogmatic and systematic literature that advanced philosophy and science.

Text genres that hardly existed before this epoch are compendia and historiography . The first historiography based on political reality and glorified local historiography appearing in chronicles and legends emerged. From the 11th century onwards, systematics were created with which the Brahmins reassembled their knowledge with the older writings and important commentators interpreted them.

Scriptures of Modern Hinduism

With the British occupation, from the mid-19th century onwards, book printing resulted in a great abundance of literature, most of which was written in English. So are z. B. Most of the writings of Neo-Hinduism and the movements around gurus are written in English. Publications by, for example, Gandhi , Vivekananda, and S. Radhakrishnan in English also led to a non-local and non-sectarian understanding of Hinduism.

In general, there are also tendencies towards westernization and secularization in the literature of modern Hinduism .

Popular fonts

Kavyas

The Kavyas are an important form of literature, often translated as poetry (see Sanskrit literature ), but Kavyas can also be in prose. Kavyas are not considered holy scriptures, but they are part of Hindu literature. Kavyas come in many forms, e.g. B. as plays, novellas or epics composed in verse. Kavyas require a high literary education and are stylistically particularly elaborate and ornamented. Kavyas mostly contain parts of Indian mythology and begin with prayers and invocations of deities. Some famous Kavyas like the Gitagovinda or the Karnandana belong to devotional Hinduism and others like Kalidasas Kumarasambhava refer to the mythology, here the birth of Skanda .

A particularly outstanding Kavya is the Kuncitanghri-stava from Umapati Shivacarya. This is a hymn that sings of Shiva Nataraja's curved foot. The hymn was written around 1300 and contains 313 stanzas. These stanzas refer to mythological, philosophical and theological ideas and each verse contains a refrain extolling Shiva's raised foot in dance.

Stotras

Stotras are religious texts of Hinduism that are sung or recited. Stotras are Sanskrit hymns that often use a simplified Sanskrit. The stotras often contain rhymes, meters and a refrain. The texts mostly represent hymns that worship a deity, others praise saints, e.g. B. Shankara . Well-known stotras are the songs of Gitagovinda .

Nama stotras are lists of names, properties, attributes and descriptions of a particular deity. These are often recited in temples. Nama stotras are included in the Brahmanda Purana , for example .

Comments

There are innumerable commentaries on important religious scriptures in Hindu literature. Some only refer to the explanation of difficult words, others comment on entire texts. Famous comments include: B. the Shankaras on the Upanishads or Sayana's commentary on the Vedas. In such comments, every single word is taken into account. There are various comments on many texts such as the Brahmasutras or the Bhagavadgita , which also have the purpose of discussing and refuting other interpretations. Comments are not only written in Sanskrit, but also in the vernacular and are partly passed on orally.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cush, Robinson, York 2008, p. 707.
  2. ↑ Cush, Robinson, York 2008, p. 708.
  3. ↑ Michaels 2006, p. 66.
  4. ↑ Michaels 2006, p. 48ff.
  5. ↑ Cush, Robinson, York 2008, p. 710.
  6. ↑ Cush, Robinson, York 2008, pp. 711-722.
  7. ↑ a b c Michaels 2006, p. 71.
  8. ↑ Michaels 2006, pp. 77-78.
  9. ↑ Michaels 2006, p. 78.
  10. ↑ Michaels 2006, p. 80.
  11. ↑ Cush, Robinson, York 2008, p. 711.
  12. ↑ a b c Cush, Robinson, York 2008, p. 712.
  13. ↑ Cush, Robinson, York 2008, pp. 712 f.
  14. ↑ Cush, Robinson, York 2008, p. 713.