Hinduism has several sacred texts, and the most ancient ones are written in Sanskrit and called the Vedas. The Vedas are divided into four sections: the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Atharva Veda. They are hymns that are also accompanied in the total Veda by Brahmanas (ritual texts), Aranyakas (“forest” or “wilderness” texts), and Upanishads (philosophical texts). The Upanishads are also called the Vedanta and come at the end of the total Veda. The Veda is the central scripture of Hinduism.

Apart from the Vedas, there are other important texts in Hinduism. The remembered texts consist of post-Vedic texts, including the Mahabharata and the Ramayana; the Bhagavad Gita, a text inserted into the Mahabharata that focuses on the god Krishna; and the Dharamasastras, consisting of the manuals concerning dharma and aphorism on dharma. The Puranas are a collection of ancient tales about the different incarnations and the lives of saints.

There are two main categories of the Hindu scriptures: Shruti-"That which is heard", consists of the four Vedas and Upanishads scriptures, and Smriti-"That which is remembered", composed of traditional texts, including the Dharma Shastras (legal and ethical texts), the Puranas, and the folk/historical legends known as the Mahabharata and Ramayana.

It is important to note that most of the sacred texts mentioned in this article started life in oral form well before being committed to writing, and as such “sacred text” is not only the written word, but also the “heard” word as well as the visual text of image and icon.