Oldest book of hindu religion

Composed in vedic sanskrit hymns, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of hinduism. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. Hindus have a wide variety of core beliefs and exist in many different sects. The book contains 270 pages and is divided in 57 small easytoread chapters, containing authentic information about all the important aspects of hindu religion, culture, and philosophy. The vedas scriptures guide hindus in their daily life. Hinduism does not just have one sacred book but several. Which holy book is the oldest, the bible, the gita, or the. Hinduism is a conglomeration of religious, philosophical, and cultural ideals and practices that originated in india thousands of years before the birth of christ. Yajur veda mantras and benedictions to be used during ceremonies. Its the oldest book known in the world, and therefore, hinduism is also sometimes referred to as the oldest religion. Zoroastrian texts depict one of the worlds oldest monotheistic religions practiced in iran around 600bc650ce. A comprehensive survey of the hindu tradition, the book deals with the history of hinduism, the sacred writings, the hindu worldview, and the specifics of the major branches of hinduismvaisnavism, saivism, and saktism. This is an attempt to capture in one place the names of books and other works written in ancient india.

Hinduism is the oldest of the major world religions. The oldest religious book in the world hasnt yet been discovered by archaeologists. The books which hindu regard as their which is definite is that its followers are religious literature, are, no doubt, more in millions. The history of hindu india, from ancient times duration.

Its a little hilarious to see the answers here about this question almost every person is trying to prove their scriptures are the best just like any other religious question. They consider this the word of god and the basis of the eternal religion, sanatana dharma. Not being very preachy, he has covered all the important aspects with a very clear stance and has given readers just enough, that should be known. Hinduism is an indian religion, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. Hinduism is the primary religion of south asia, believed to be the result of a gradual combination of various ancient indian cultures. Historically, it is a religion in numbers than other religions of the 3500 years old. Hindu religion is a dominant eastern religion ranking third in the world. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. This is an attempt to capture in one place the names of books and other.

The vedas are a large body of hindu texts originating in ancient india, with its samhita and brahmanas complete before about 800 bce. The history of hinduism in india can be traced to about 1500 bce. In other words, hinduism is a conglomeration of different doctrines and traditions mainly based on vedas and modified from. For the purpose of this list, we consider all books written in india up to and including the mughal era as being ancient books. For example, the story of creating the world in seven days is told in avesta one of the texts that predate the bible.

The book, which was first published in 1947, has now been rearranged in a more convenient form, with useful additions here and there, and is now released in its fifth edition. Hindu religion, philosophy and concepts kindle edition by sharma, shalu. Religion has been around for as long as man has existed. Hinduism, major world religion originating on the indian subcontinent and comprising several and varied systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual. You know that the holy book rigveda is the oldest in the library of the world. The vedas are separated into four different sections, the rig veda, sama veda, yajur veda and atharva veda. They also help to preserve the religious dimensions of family and society. Hinduism a brief overview of the development of hinduism. The shruti refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts. It is believed by followers of this religion that the universe goes through many phases of preservation, creation, and dissolution. Infact, it is the oldest ever book in world which describes earth as sphere but not flat, gravity being reason for objects falling on earth etc. Scholars regard hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various indian. The religion is believed to have influenced many of other world religions, including christianity. The oldest religion is hinduism the only uncreated.

The shruti refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts, believed. Most research points to hinduism as the oldest form of religion. The most ancient sacred texts of the hindu religion are written in sanskrit and called the vedas. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading hinduism made easy. Hinduism is the worlds oldest extant religion, and with more than a billion followers, it is also the worlds third largest religion.

Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. We do hope that all serious students of hindu religion and philosophy will find the book useful and. The dharmashastras law books, derivatives of the dharmasutras. The only religion which hugs all other religions and people as they are. Hinduism originated in india, jainism and buddhism in nepal, judaism in israel and taoism in china. However, it is the oldest of the monotheistic religions. Significant numbers of hindu communities are also present worldwide.

Surya siddhanta is the first among the traditions or doctrines siddhanta in archaeoastronomy of the vedic era. Hindu religious texts are the oldest known written works on earth, as well. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. In some ways hinduism is the oldest living religion in the world, or at least elements within it stretch back many thousands of years. Hinduism does not just have one sacred book but several scriptures.

It is often described as a way of life and is widely practiced in india and other parts of the indian subcontinent as well as parts of southeast asia. In simple words, hinduism is a way of life, which helps you to liberate from the cycle of birth and rebirth. They are believed to be the worlds most ancient religious texts. While it certainly has evolved over the years, the belief in gods and deities is an ancient tradition and dates back thousands of years. Now i am eager to think that the beautiful text the epic of gilgamesh 3rd.

If you want to be able to organize some good ways of framing an inquiry into this religion i would say this book is the best place to start. Discover the 10 oldest religious texts in the world here. An excellent overview of hindu religion, this book is a great read. The oldest sacred book of hinduism gomal university. Evidence of hinduisms early antecedents is derived from archaeology, comparative philology, and comparative religion. Hinduism is believed to have the oldest roots among all religions. Hinduism is an ancient religion with diverse traditions such as vaishnavism, shaivism. The vedas are a collection of hymns and other ancient religious texts written in. No doubt swami bhaskarananda has come up with a gem of work to tell the complex historyevolution of worlds oldest religion. The real author of the bible is god, and that makes the bible also one of the oldest written works. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. The hindu religion follows the divinity of the four vedas which is considered the oldest scripture in the world. This maya is fatherinlaw of ravana, the villain of.

Hindu scriptures can be broadly grouped under two principal. Followers believe the concepts of dharma and karma, and the religion breaks into various denominations, including shaivism, vaishnavism, and. This is the knowledge that the sun god gave to an asura called maya in treta yuga. The oldest forms of worship in the world are ancestor worship, shamanism, and animism, which are thought to date back to at least around 300,000 bce. Early hinduism was founded over 5,000 years ago in the indus river valley in india. It is also one of the most diverse and complex, having millions of gods. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as sanatana dharma, the eternal tradition, or the eternal way, beyond human history. The worlds oldest religion still being practiced today is hinduism know to adherents as sanatan dharma, eternal order. Where the vedas gave a foundation for the direction of hinduism, the upanishads filled in the gaps. There are four vedas, and these constitute the hindu canon. Actually the religion based on the vedas is the oldest one, in which there was not idol worshipping was termed as a holy ritual, rather, internal meditation was the one explained in the. The christian bible and jewish scriptures also reveal that not only did god create the world and everything within it, but god did so because he wanted to. In hindu religion the oldest and most sacred text is the vedas. It is a monotheistic religion that is believed to have begun between 2,000 and 1,000 b.

Today, with about 900 million followers, hinduism is the third. Scholars regard hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various indian cultures. The main hindu texts are the vedas and their supplements books based on the vedas. One of the most important books out of this collection of texts is the book of. The earliest literary source for the history of hinduism is the rigveda, consisting of hymns that were composed chiefly during the last two or three centuries of. It includes elements such as liturgical material as well as mythological accounts, poems, prayers, and formulas considered to b. Yet hinduism resists easy definition partly because of the.

Hinduism is one of the oldest known organized religionsits sacred writings date as far back as 1400 to 1500 b. Zoroastrianism or mazdayasna is one of the oldest religions in the world. Hinduism is the religion of the majority in india, nepal, and mauritius. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. Hindu sacred literature is the most ancient of the living literatures of the world. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with. The proof of many of these religions are seen in religious texts discovered by experts and specialists. I was inclined to believe that the rig veda was the oldest. The oldest religions that are still widely practiced are hinduism, judaism, buddhism, taoism, and jainism. Good book to begin with, but i suspect that the religion of hinduism has more lessons, more layers than meets our jaded western eyes.