The Map of Hindu Texts — Digital Archive

Śruti — the Vedic core129 texts

Four layers × four Vedas, plus all 108 Muktikā Upaniṣads. ★ marks the 13 principal.

Saṃhitās (hymn & formula collections)8

Ṛgveda SaṃhitāSāmaveda SaṃhitāYajurveda Vājasaneyi SaṃhitāYajurveda Taittirīya SaṃhitāYajurveda Maitrāyaṇī SaṃhitāYajurveda Kaṭha SaṃhitāYajurveda Kapiṣṭhala-Kaṭha SaṃhitāAtharvaveda Saṃhitā

Brāhmaṇas (prose ritual commentary)8

Aitareya BrāhmaṇaKauṣītaki BrāhmaṇaPañcaviṃśa BrāhmaṇaṢaḍviṃśa Brāhmaṇa (+6 minor)Jaiminīya BrāhmaṇaŚatapatha BrāhmaṇaTaittirīya BrāhmaṇaGopatha Brāhmaṇa

Āraṇyakas (forest books)5

Aitareya ĀraṇyakaKauṣītaki ĀraṇyakaBṛhadāraṇyaka ĀraṇyakaTaittirīya ĀraṇyakaKaṭha Āraṇyaka

Upaniṣads (philosophical treatises)108

★ Aitareya (1)★ Kauṣītaki (2)Nāda-bindu (3)Ātma-bodha (4)Nirvāṇa (5)Mudgala (6)Akṣamālā (7)Tripurā (8)Saubhāgya (9)Bahvṛca (10)★ Kena (62)★ Chāndogya (63)Āruṇi (64)★ Maitrāyaṇi (Maitrī) (65)Maitreya (66)Vajrasūcikā (67)Yoga-cūḍāmaṇi (68)Vāsudeva (69)Mahat-Sannyāsa (70)Avyakta (71)Kuṇḍikā (72)Sāvitrī (73)Rudrākṣa (74)Jābāla (75)Darśana (76)Jābāli (77)★ Īśā (11)★ Bṛhadāraṇyaka (12)Jābāla (13)Haṃsa (14)Paramahaṃsa (15)Subāla (16)Mantrikā (17)Nirālamba (18)Trīśikhi-brāhmaṇa (19)Maṇḍala-brāhmaṇa (20)Advaya-tāraka (21)Pāiṅgala (22)Bhikṣu (23)Turīyātīta (24)Adhyātmā (25)Tārasāra (26)Yājñavalkya (27)Sātyāyanī (28)Muktikā (the index text) (29)★ Kaṭha (30)★ Taittirīya (31)Brahma (32)Kaivalya (33)★ Śvetāśvatara (34)Garbha (35)Nārāyaṇa (36)Amṛta-bindu (37)Amṛta-nāda (38)Kālāgnirudra (39)Kṣurikā (40)Sarvasāra (41)Śukarahasya (42)Tejo-bindu (43)Dhyāna-bindu (44)Brahmavidyā (45)Yogatattva (46)Dakṣiṇāmūrti (47)Skanda (48)Śārīraka (49)Yogaśikhā (50)Ekākṣara (51)Akṣi (52)Avadhūta (53)Kaṭharudra (54)Rudra-hṛdaya (55)Yoga-kuṇḍalinī (56)Pañcabrahma (57)Prāṇāgnihotra (58)Varāha (59)Kalisantaraṇa (60)Sarasvatī-rahasya (61)★ Praśna (78)★ Muṇḍaka (79)★ Māṇḍūkya (80)Atharvaśiras (81)Atharvaśikhā (82)Bṛhad-Jābāla (83)Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī (84)Nārada-parivrājaka (85)Sītā (86)Śarabha (87)Mahā-Nārāyaṇa (88)Rāma-rahasya (89)Rāma-tāpanī (90)Śāṇḍilya (91)Paramahaṃsa-parivrājaka (92)Annapūrṇā (93)Sūrya (94)Ātmā (95)Pāśupata-brahma (96)Parabrahma (97)Tripura-tāpinī (98)Devī (99)Bhāvanā (100)Bhasma-Jābāla (101)Gaṇapati (102)Mahāvākya (103)Gopāla-tāpanī (104)Kṛṣṇa (105)Hayagrīva (106)Dattātreya (107)Garuḍa (108)

RING 1 — Vedāṅgas & Kalpa-sūtrasVeda-attached smṛti — śruti's "limbs and branches"26 texts

Vedāṅgas — the six limbs5

Śikṣā — Prātiśākhyas (phonetics)Chandas — Piṅgala, Chandaḥsūtra (meter)Vyākaraṇa — Pāṇini, Aṣṭādhyāyī (grammar)Nirukta — Yāska, Nirukta + Nighaṇṭu (etymology)Jyotiṣa — Vedāṅga-Jyotiṣa (astronomy)

Kalpa-sūtras — Gṛhya (domestic rites)2

Gṛhya-sūtras — Śāṅkhāyana · Āśvalāyana · Pāraskara · KhādiraGṛhya-sūtras — Gobhila · Hiraṇyakeśin · Āpastamba

Kalpa-sūtras — Śrauta (solemn ritual)10

Śāṅkhāyana Śrauta (Rigveda)Āśvalāyana Śrauta (Rigveda)Lāṭyāyana Śrauta (Sāmaveda)Drāhyāyaṇa · Jaiminīya Śrauta (Sāmaveda)Āpastamba Śrauta (Black Yajur)Baudhāyana Śrauta (Black Yajur)Bhāradvāja · Mānava Śrauta (Black Yajur)Hiraṇyakeśin · Vārāha · Vaikhānasa Śrauta (Black Yajur)Kātyāyana Śrauta (White Yajur)Vaitāna Śrauta (Atharva)

Śulba-sūtras (altar geometry — appended to Śrauta)1

Śulba-sūtras — Baudhāyana · Āpastamba · Kātyāyana · Mānava

Kauśika Sūtra (Atharvaveda ritual application)1

Kauśika Sūtra

Dharma-sūtras & Dharmaśāstra (law & conduct)7

Dharma-sūtras — Āpastamba · GautamaDharma-sūtras — Baudhāyana · VāsiṣṭhaManu-smṛti (Mānava-Dharmaśāstra)Yājñavalkya-smṛtiNārada-smṛtiViṣṇu-smṛtiParāśara-smṛti

RING 2 — The Six Darśanasāstika philosophical systems — smṛti that systematizes the Veda7 texts

The three classical pairs (logic · metaphysics · exegesis)6

Nyāya — Nyāya-sūtra (Gautama/Akṣapāda) + Vātsyāyana's BhāṣyaVaiśeṣika — Vaiśeṣika-sūtra (Kaṇāda) + PraśastapādaSāṃkhya — Sāṃkhya-Kārikā (Īśvarakṛṣṇa) + Gauḍapāda's BhāṣyaYoga — Yoga-sūtra (Patañjali) + Vyāsa's BhāṣyaMīmāṃsā (Pūrva) — Mīmāṃsā-sūtra (Jaimini) + Śabara's BhāṣyaVedānta (Uttara-Mīmāṃsā) — Brahma-sūtra (Bādarāyaṇa) + bhāṣyas

The Prasthāna-trayī — Vedānta's three pillars (all PD-shippable)1

Upaniṣads + Brahma-sūtra + Bhagavad-Gītā

RING 3 — The Epicsitihāsa — "thus it was" — smṛti that popularizes the Veda4 texts

The two great epics + their appendix4

Mahābhārata (18 parvas, ~1.8M words)Bhagavad-Gītā (in MBh, Bhīṣma-parva; a Prasthāna-trayī pillar)Harivaṃśa (khila / appendix to the Mahābhārata)Rāmāyaṇa (Vālmīki, 7 kāṇḍas, ~24,000 verses)

RING 4 — The Purāṇas18 Mahāpurāṇas — sectarian myth, cosmology & genealogy; the "fifth Veda"26 texts

Sāttvika (Vaiṣṇava) six6

ViṣṇuBhāgavata (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)Nāradīya (Nārada)GaruḍaPadmaVarāha

Rājasika (Brahmā) six6

BrahmaBrahmāṇḍaBrahmavaivartaMārkaṇḍeyaBhaviṣyaVāmana

Tāmasika (Śaiva) six6

ŚivaLiṅgaSkanda (largest — 81,000+ verses)AgniMatsyaKūrma

Note — the alternate 18th1

Vāyu (Śaiva lists count it a Mahāpurāṇa in place of Śiva)

Upapurāṇas — the 18 "secondary" Purāṇas (a translation desert)6

Devī-BhāgavataGaṇeśaKālikāNṛsiṃha (Nārasiṃha)Vishnudharmottara (Pt III, on art)~13 more (Sāmba · Sūrya · Sanatkumāra · Bṛhannāradīya · Kapila · Mudgala · Śivarahasya · …)

Sthala-Purāṇas & Māhātmyas1

Local temple / tīrtha texts (hundreds; Sanskrit + vernacular)

RING 5 — Upaveda & Technical Śāstrasthe applied-knowledge wing, attached to the Veda14 texts

Āyurveda — medicine (upaveda)3

Caraka SaṃhitāSuśruta SaṃhitāAṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya (Vāgbhaṭa)

Gandharvaveda — drama, music & arts (upaveda)2

Nāṭyaśāstra (Bharata — "fifth Veda" of drama)Saṅgīta-Ratnākara (Śārṅgadeva — music)

Dhanurveda — warfare (upaveda)1

Dhanurveda (archery / martial science)

Sthāpatyaveda — architecture (upaveda)2

MānasāraMayamata

Statecraft · pleasure · astronomy · mathematics6

Arthaśāstra (Kauṭilya — statecraft)Kāmasūtra (Vātsyāyana)Sūrya-Siddhānta (astronomy)Bṛhat-Saṃhitā (Varāhamihira)Līlāvatī (Bhāskara II — mathematics)Āryabhaṭīya (Āryabhaṭa)

SIBLING BRANCH A — Āgama / Tantraparallel revelation — NOT derived from the Veda6 texts

Śākta Tantra — the public-domain body1

Woodroffe / "Arthur Avalon" corpus

Kashmir Śaivism2

Spanda Kārikā · Śiva-Sūtra VimarśinīVijñāna Bhairava · Pratyabhijñāhṛdaya · Tantrāloka

Śaiva Siddhānta2

The 28 Śaiva Siddhānta ĀgamasSiddhānta śāstras (Śivajñānabodham, etc.)

Vaiṣṇava Pāñcarātra1

Pāñcarātra Saṃhitās (Ahirbudhnya · Lakṣmī · Jayākhya)

SIBLING BRANCH B — Vernacular Bhaktiregional-language devotion — the "little traditions"14 texts

North & West8

Tulsīdās, Rāmcaritmānas (Awadhi)Kabīr (Sant Bhāṣā)Tukārām (Marathi abhaṅgas)Bengali Vaiṣṇava (Vidyāpati · Caṇḍīdās)Sūrdās, Sūrsāgar (Braj)Mīrābāī (Rajasthani)Jñāneśvar, Jñāneśvarī (Marathi)Sikh, Gurū Granth Sāhib (adjacent religion)

South5

Divya Prabandham — the "Tamil Veda" (Ālvārs)Tiruvācakam (Māṇikkavācakar, Śaiva)Tēvāram (Nāyanārs, Śaiva)Kannada vacanas (Basava · Akka · Allama)Telugu (Annamayya; Pōtana Bhāgavatam)

Adjacent — Tamil ethics (not bhakti)1

Tirukkuṟaḷ (Tiruvaḷḷuvar)

SIBLING BRANCH C — The Commentatorsthe interpretive tradition that binds the whole map57 texts

The Vedic commentator1

Sāyaṇa (Ṛgveda-bhāṣya, 14th c.)

Advaita Vedānta (Śaṅkara's non-dualism)9

Ādi Śaṅkara (8th c.)Sureśvara (9th c., Śaṅkara's disciple)Maṇḍana Miśra (8th c.)Vācaspati Miśra (9–10th c., polymath)Padmapāda (9th c.)Vidyāraṇya (14th c.)Madhusūdana Sarasvatī (16th c.)Sadānanda (15th c.)Appayya Dīkṣita (16th c.)

Viśiṣṭādvaita (Rāmānuja's qualified non-dualism)4

Rāmānuja (11–12th c.)Yāmuna (10–11th c.)Vedānta Deśika (13–14th c., polymath)Sudarśana Sūri (13–14th c.)

Dvaita & other Vedāntas6

Madhva (13th c., Dvaita)Jayatīrtha (14th c.)Vyāsatīrtha (15–16th c.)Vallabha (15–16th c., Śuddhādvaita)Nimbārka (13th c., Dvaitādvaita)Bhāskara (9th c., Bhedābheda)

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava (Bengal school)3

Rūpa Gosvāmī (16th c.)Jīva Gosvāmī (16th c.)Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa (18th c.)

Mīmāṃsā (ritual exegesis)3

Kumārila Bhaṭṭa (7–8th c., Bhāṭṭa)Prabhākara (7–8th c., Prābhākara)Pārthasārathi Miśra (11th c.)

Nyāya & Navya-Nyāya (logic)7

Uddyotakara (6th c.)Udayana (10th c.)Jayanta Bhaṭṭa (9th c.)Gaṅgeśa (14th c., founds Navya-Nyāya)Raghunātha Śiromaṇi (15–16th c.)Annambhaṭṭa (17th c.)Viśvanātha Pañcānana (17th c.)

Vaiśeṣika · Sāṃkhya · Yoga4

Praśastapāda + Śrīdhara (6th / 10th c.)Vācaspati Miśra (Tattvakaumudī)Bhoja (11th c.)Vijñānabhikṣu (16th c.)

Grammar & philosophy of language4

Bhartṛhari (5th c.)Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita (17th c.)Nāgeśa Bhaṭṭa (17–18th c.)Kaiyaṭa (11th c.)

Kashmir Śaivism3

Abhinavagupta (10–11th c., polymath)Utpaladeva (10th c.)Kṣemarāja (11th c.)

Dharmaśāstra digests (Hindu law)5

Vijñāneśvara (11–12th c.)Jīmūtavāhana (12th c.)Medhātithi (9th c.)Kullūka Bhaṭṭa (13–15th c.)Aparārka (12th c.) · Hemādri (13th c.)

Doxographers — surveys of every system2

Mādhava / Vidyāraṇya (14th c.)Haribhadra (8th c., Jain survey)

The edge — skeptics, materialists, satirists6

Śrīharṣa (12th c., demolition-dialectic)Citsukha (13–14th c.)Cārvāka / Lokāyata (materialists)Jayarāśi Bhaṭṭa (8–9th c., radical skeptic)Kṣemendra (11th c., satirist)Bhāsarvajña (10th c., theistic Nyāya)

SIBLING BRANCH D — Hymn, Gītā & Yoga Praxisdevotional & yogic genres15 texts

Stotra — the hymn corpus6

Viṣṇu Sahasranāma (in the Mahābhārata)Śiva Sahasranāma (in the Mahābhārata)Lalitā Sahasranāma (w/ Bhāskararāya's comm.)Saundaryalaharī / ĀnandalaharīHymns to the Goddess (Devī stotras)Bhaja Govindam · Śivānandalaharī · Dakṣiṇāmūrti-stotra

The other Gītās6

Anu-Gītā + Sanatsujātīya (in the Mahābhārata)Aṣṭāvakra GītāAvadhūta GītāUddhava Gītā (Bhāgavata, Bk 11)Devī Gītā (Devī-Bhāgavata)Ribhu Gītā · Guru Gītā

Haṭha-Yoga manuals (~15th c.)3

Haṭha-Yoga-PradīpikāGheraṇḍa SaṃhitāŚiva Saṃhitā

BEYOND THE CANON — Kāvya, Nibandha & the Living CorpusHindu literature that isn't scripture34 texts

Classical kāvya & drama (belles-lettres)13

Kālidāsa — Śākuntalā · Meghadūta · Raghuvaṃśa · KumārasambhavaŚūdraka — Mṛcchakaṭika (Little Clay Cart)Bhāsa — the 13 playsBāṇa — KādambarīBāṇa — HarṣacaritaBhavabhūti — Uttararāmacarita / MālatīmādhavaJayadeva — Gīta-GovindaBhartṛhari — the three ŚatakasAmaru — AmaruśatakaPañcatantraHitopadeśaKathāsaritsāgara (Somadeva)Daśakumāracarita (Daṇḍin)

Later Dharmaśāstra nibandhas (law digests)5

Vyavahāra-mayūkha (Nīlakaṇṭha)Parāśara-Mādhavīya (Mādhava)Vīramitrodaya (Mitra Miśra)Smṛti-candrikā (Devaṇṇa Bhaṭṭa)Kṛtya-kalpataru · Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi · Nirṇaya-sindhu · Dharma-sindhu

Living sampradāya theology & ritual manuals6

Śaiva Siddhānta Meykaṇḍa Śāstras (14 Tamil texts)Vaikhānasa Smārta-sūtraŚrī Vaiṣṇava Tiruvāymoḻi commentary ("Tamil Veda")Vīraśaiva Śūnyasampādane · Liṅgāyat vacanasSwaminarayan Vachanāmṛt · Guru-caritraŚrī Vaiṣṇava Īṭu (36,000-paḍi) · Pāñcarātra & Vaikhānasa temple āgamas

Modern & Reform (19th–20th c. — where scripture becomes movement)10

Rammohan Roy (1772–1833, Brahmo Samāj)Dayānanda Sarasvatī (1824–83, Ārya Samāj)Vivekananda (1863–1902)Ramakrishna (1836–86)Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941)Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950)Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950)Paramahansa Yogananda (1893–1952)Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948)Radhakrishnan · Sivananda · Prabhupāda · Chinmayananda

Held in this archive awaiting placement43 texts

Texts of this tradition the archive holds that have no chip on this map and no room placement — browsable here honestly; each awaits a reviewed binding or a structure-growth pass (the stays-reception rulings of the placement program, 2026-07).