ऋग्वेद
Rigveda
10 mandalas · 1,028 suktas · ~10,600 mantras
The oldest hymns, to Agni, Indra, Varuna and the cosmic order (Rta). Contains the Nasadiya Sukta on creation and the Gayatri mantra (3.62.10).
Granth Suchi · Library
Five thousand years of books, mapped.
A guide to the great texts — what each one is, how large it is, and what it teaches. Ask the Guru about any of them.
The revealed Vedas
Shruti
यजुर्वेद
Yajurveda
Shukla & Krishna recensions
Prose formulas for performing yajna. The Shukla branch closes with the Ishavasya Upanishad; the Rudram belongs to the Krishna branch.
सामवेद
Samaveda
~1,875 verses
Rigvedic verses set to melody — the root of Indian classical music. Krishna says in the Gita: ‘Of the Vedas I am the Sama’ (10.22).
अथर्ववेद
Atharvaveda
20 kandas · ~6,000 mantras
Hymns for healing, household life, statecraft and protection; the Bhumi Sukta is an ancient hymn to Mother Earth.
The summit of Vedic thought
Upanishads
ईशोपनिषद्
Isha Upanishad
18 verses
‘All this is pervaded by the Lord’ — renounce and enjoy; balances action and knowledge.
केनोपनिषद्
Kena Upanishad
4 sections
By whom is the mind directed? Brahman as the seer behind seeing, told through the story of Uma Haimavati.
कठोपनिषद्
Katha Upanishad
2 chapters
Nachiketa questions Yama about death; the chariot image of body, senses and mind.
मुण्डकोपनिषद्
Mundaka Upanishad
3 mundakas
Higher and lower knowledge; source of ‘Satyameva Jayate’ and the two birds on one tree.
माण्डूक्योपनिषद्
Mandukya Upanishad
12 verses
Om and the four states — waking, dream, deep sleep and Turiya.
छान्दोग्योपनिषद्
Chandogya Upanishad
8 chapters
Uddalaka teaches Shvetaketu ‘Tat tvam asi’ — you are That.
बृहदारण्यकोपनिषद्
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
6 chapters
The largest Upanishad: Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi, ‘Aham Brahmasmi’, and ‘Asato ma sad gamaya’.
तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद्
Taittiriya Upanishad
3 vallis
The five koshas (sheaths) and the convocation address ‘Matru devo bhava’.
The epics
Itihasa
भगवद्गीता
Bhagavad Gita
18 chapters · 701 verses
Krishna's counsel to Arjuna on duty, devotion, knowledge and selfless action. Fully readable here.
रामायण
Ramayana
7 kandas · ~24,000 shlokas
Valmiki's Adi Kavya — Rama's life as the ideal of dharma, from Ayodhya to Lanka.
महाभारत
Mahabharata
18 parvas · ~100,000 shlokas
The longest epic: the Kuru war, the Vidura Niti, the Yaksha Prashna and the Gita itself.
योगवासिष्ठ
Yoga Vasishtha
~29,000 verses
Sage Vasishtha teaches young Rama that the world is a projection of mind.
Stories of the cosmos
Puranas
श्रीमद्भागवत
Bhagavata Purana
12 skandhas · 18,000 verses
The lilas of Vishnu's avatars, above all Krishna; the heart of bhakti traditions.
विष्णु पुराण
Vishnu Purana
6 amshas
Creation, genealogies, Dhruva and Prahlada, and the ages of the world.
शिव पुराण
Shiva Purana
~24,000 verses
Shiva's glory, the Jyotirlingas and the story of Shiva and Parvati.
दुर्गा सप्तशती
Devi Mahatmya
13 chapters · 700 verses
From the Markandeya Purana — the Goddess defeats Mahishasura; recited during Navaratri.
Philosophy and sciences
Darshanas & Shastras
योगसूत्र
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
196 sutras
‘Yoga is the stilling of the mind's fluctuations’ (1.2) and the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga.
ब्रह्मसूत्र
Brahma Sutras
555 sutras
Badarayana's systematic summary of Upanishadic teaching — basis of Vedanta schools.
बृहत्पाराशर होराशास्त्र
Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra
~97 chapters
The foundation of Vedic astrology: houses, vargas, dashas, Ashtakavarga and Shadbala used in our Kundli.
लाल किताब
Lal Kitab
5 volumes (1939–1952)
Pt. Roop Chand Joshi's Urdu-Hindi astrology books, known for simple household remedies (upay) and a house-based reading of the chart.
बृहज्जातक
Brihat Jataka
28 chapters
Varahamihira's concise classic on natal astrology — planetary natures, yogas and longevity.
फलदीपिका
Phaladeepika
28 chapters
Mantreswara's practical guide to results of planets in houses, yogas and dashas.
सारावली
Saravali
54 chapters
Kalyana Varma's large compendium on planetary combinations and their effects.
जैमिनि सूत्र
Jaimini Sutras
4 chapters
An alternative system using chara karakas, rashi drishti and sign-based dashas.
सुश्रुत संहिता
Sushruta Samhita
186 chapters
The classic of Ayurvedic surgery, describing hundreds of procedures and instruments.
नाट्यशास्त्र
Natya Shastra
36 chapters
Bharata Muni's treatise on drama, dance, music and the theory of rasa.
पञ्चतन्त्र
Panchatantra
5 books
Vishnu Sharma's animal fables teaching wise conduct and statecraft.
मनुस्मृति
Manusmriti
12 chapters
An early law-text on dharma, duties and social order, much debated today.
चरक संहिता
Charaka Samhita
8 sthanas
The classic of Ayurveda: the three doshas, diet, daily routine and healing.
अर्थशास्त्र
Arthashastra
15 books
Kautilya's treatise on statecraft, economy and law.