Sanatan Literature, Summarized
SANATAN LITERATURE, SUMMARIZED IN ORDER OF READING 🔽
👉 The Srimad Bhagavad Gita (by GitaPress) - A dummy-friendly Summary of everything in Sanatan Culture
👉 Valmiki Ramayan & Mahabharata: The original histories of India called as “itihasas”
👉 Upanishads - There are 200+ but you can jump into Aitareya, Isha, Chandogya, Mundaka, Katha. They’re the 4th, last & most comparitively accessible sections of the 4 Vedas - Rig, Sam, Yajur & Atharva. The other 3 parts i.e. Samhitas, Brahmanas & Arankyakas are kinda complicated, so you can skip those
👉 Manusmriti (the OG law code of conduct)
👉 Puranas - simplify vedas into stories - There are 18 main ones but you can just go for Bhrama, Padma, Vishnu, Bhagavata, Garuda, Shiva, Linga, Skanda, Bhramanda, Agni, Narada
👉 Bhashyas (personal commentaries & interpretations found in books) by Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya, Vallabhacharya & Nimbarkacharya
👉 Vedangas - Cheatcodes to crack vedas - not found in one particular book but arranged as per categories like Shiksha (pronunciations), Vyakrana (grammar), Nirukta (meaning), Chanda (sounds), Kalpa (rituals), and Jyotish shastra (best time to do stuff)
👉 Contemporary books like Chanakyaniti, Krishna Niti, Yoga Sutras by Patanjali, Autobiography of a Yogi
You have many more texts covering the 6 Darshanas (philosophies), Agamas (ways to worship Gods), Tantras (material manipulation), Mantras (chants), Yantras (geometric symbol concentration tools), Dharma Shashtras (instructional books), and it goes on for infinity!
All of these are a search away on Google. You can also consult sites like:
https://vedicscriptures.in/
https://www.wisdomlib.org/
https://vedicheritage.gov.in/introduction/
Hari Om!
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FULL COMMENTARY:
1. At the top, you have 4 vedas, which compile the speeches of 100s of rishis, so they’re called Shrutis or oral texts & God is said to have inspired them.
These’re divided into 4 parts but the most readable & practical info on the universe, called as Upanishads & I’ve listed main ones in the caption.
If you wanna understand vedas, you’ll need cheat codes found in books classified as the vedangas, which explain the pronunciations, rhyme schemes, word meanings & proper timings of doing vedic stuff.
2. If that’s too heavy, we have the class of Smriti (i.e. remembered stuff) with human authors, starting with the 18 main Puranas, which are the comic books that explain everything through semi-fictionalized strories by different fandoms, so you can read all & choose the one you like.
To learn how to pray to your chosen God, Ishta Deva, in different ways, you have the recipe books called Agamas, Mantras & Tantras, like Shaiva for Shiv, Vaishnava for Vishnu & Shakta for Goddesses.
For noobs, we have remixes called as the Abhangas, Shlokas & Kirtans which we can sing so its easier.
3. Closely related to Puranas are Iti-hasas (and so, it happened) which are the real histories, not mythology, like Ramayana about Rama, Mahabharata about Pandavas, in which Srimad Bhagavad Gita sits, and Harivamsa about Krishna.
4. After strories, we have the Dharma Shastras which are the practical instruction manuals on how to live life, like Manusmriti, our OG law book,
You also have the upavedas that are the applied science books, like Ayurveda which deals with health & medicine, and Arthashastra which talks about politics & governance & Dhanurveda on military strategy.
5. And lastly, we have the 6 darshanas & that are the philosophies of our culture - like Nyaya on logic, Vaisheshika on physics, Sankhya on space evolution, Yoga on mental & physical growth, Mimamsa on rituals & pujas, and Vedanta which split the Upanishads into different theories or school of thoughts.
6. Lastly, we have the Bhashyas which are the personal interpretations & commentaries of great guys like Adi Shankarachya.