~Sruti & Smriti~

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Śruti & Smriti

A theme that forms the base of Hinduism.

Śruti means "What is heard" and Smriti means "That which is remembered" in Sanskrit !Lets pour in our views on "Śruti & Smriti" ! They are believed to be the canon of the Hindu Sacred Texts !


Śruti (Sanskrit श्रुति, "what is heard")

They do not date to a particular period, but span the entire history of Hinduism, beginning with the earliest texts known, with some late Upanishads reaching down into modern times.

Śruti is said to have no author; rather, it is believed to be a divine recording of the "cosmic sounds of truth", heard by rishis.

There are several contesting ways to define śruti. It is most commonly defined to be composed of the four Vedas:

* Rig-Veda Knowledge of Hymns of Praise
* Atharva-Veda Knowledge of Magic Formulas
* Sama-Veda Knowledge of Melodies
* Yajur-Veda Knowledge of Sacrificial Formulas

Some sub-divisions within the scriptures, such as the Aranyakas, Brahmanas, and Upanishads, belong to the set of works distinctly labeled as śruti. In addition, the Mahabharata (an Itihasa, or History, also part of the "friendly scripture" class) is considered by some to be śruti and is sometimes called the 'fifth' Veda. Sometimes the Bhagavad Gita, a chapter within the Mahabharata, is separately considered as worthy of the śruti status.

Smriti (Sanskrit स्मॄति, "that which is remembered")

Smriti also denotes non-Shruti texts generally, seen as secondary in authority to Shruti.

Categorization of the Smriti has been a contentious issue, even the names of proposed categories are debated. Such categorization is arguably unnecessary. Nevertheless, one such taxonomy follows:

* Dharma Shastra (the laws)
* Mahakavya (the Epics; they include Mahabharata and the Ramayana)
* Purana (secondary scriptures that mainly focus on eulogize Vishnu or Shiva as the preferred supreme Deity.)
* Sutra (proverbs or aphorisms)
* Agama (the philosophies; including Mantra, Tantra, and Yantra)
* Dyasana (the philosophies; including the Vedanta)

Courtesy:Wikipedia