Part of a series on Hindu scriptures
Veda
Rigveda · Yajurveda
Samaveda · Atharvaveda
Vedic divisions
Samhita · Brahmana
Aranyaka  · Upanishad
Vedanga
Shiksha · Chandas
Vyakarana · Nirukta
Jyotisha · Kalpa
Itihasa
Mahabharata · Ramayana
Other scriptures
Smriti · Purana
Bhagavad Gita · Sutra
Pancharatra · Tantra
Kumara Vyasa Bharata · Stotra
Hanuman Chalisa · Ramacharitamanas
The Vedas This box: view • talk • edit

Sūtra (sex) (Sanskrit) or Sutta (Pāli) literally means a rope or thread that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism (or line, rule, formula), or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. It is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew (these words, including English to sew and Latinate suture, all derive from PIE *syū-). In Hinduism the 'sutras' form a school of Vedic study, related to and somewhat later than the Upanishads. They served and continue to act as grand treatises on various schools of Hindu Philosophy. They elaborate in succinct verse, sometimes esoteric, Hindu views of metaphysics, cosmogony, the human condition, moksha (liberation), and how to maintain a blissful, dharmic life, in a cosmic spin of karma, reincarnation and desire. Hindu scripture is overwhelmingly written in Sanskrit. ... Image File history File links Aum. ... The Vedas (Sanskrit: वेद) are the main scripture in Hinduism, and are a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. ... The Rigveda (Sanskrit: , a tatpurusha compound of praise, verse and knowledge) is a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the gods. ... The Yajurveda (Sanskrit , a tatpurusha compound of sacrifice + veda knowledge) is one of the four Hindu Vedas. ... The Samaveda (Sanskrit: सामवेद, sāmaveda, a tatpurusha compound of ritual chant + knowledge ), is third in the usual order of enumeration of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. ... The Atharvaveda (Sanskrit: अथर्ववेद, , a tatpurusha compound of , a type of priest, and meaning knowledge) is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the fourth Veda. According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Bhrigus and the... The Samhita (Sanskrit: joined or collected) is the basic text of each of the Vedas, comprising collections of hymns and ritual texts. ... The Brahmana (Sanskrit ब्राह्मण) are part of the Hindu Shruti; They are composed in Vedic Sanskrit, and the period of their composition is sometimes referred to as the Brahmanic period or age (approximately between 900 BC and 500 BC). ... The Aranyakas (Sanskrit आरण्यक, Forest Books, Forest Treatises) are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures are sometimes argued to be part of either the Brahmanas or Upanishads. ... The Upanishads (Devanagari: उपनिषद्, ; also known as and ) are part of the Vedas and form the Hindu scriptures which primarily discuss philosophy, meditation and nature of God; they form the core spiritual thought of Vedantic Hinduism. ... The Vedanga (IAST , member of the Veda) are six auxiliary disciplines for the understanding and tradition of the Vedas. ... Shiksha is an NGO devoted to improving the standards of education in New Delhi and its neighbouring regions. ... The verses of the Vedas have a variety of different meters. ... Sanskrit grammatical tradition (, one of the six Vedanga disciplines) begins in late Vedic India, and culminates in the AṣṭādhyāyÄ« of Pāṇini (ca. ... Nirukta is Vedic glossary of difficult words. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Kalpa is one of the six disciplines of Vedanga, treating ritual. ... Itihasa (Sanskrit: इतिहास - itihāsa in IAST notation, literally meaning that which happened) is the word for History. ... Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra The (Devanagari: ), is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the . ... The (DevanāgarÄ«: ) is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmiki and is an important part of the Hindu canon (smá¹›ti). ... Smriti (Sanskrit स्मॄति, that which is remembered) refers to a specific canon of Hindu religious scripture. ... Purana (Sanskrit पुराण, purāṇa, meaning ancient or old) is the name of a genre (or a group of related genres) of Indian written literature (as distinct from oral literature). ... Bhagavad Gīta भगवद्गीता, composed ca the fifth - second centuries BC, is part of the epic poem Mahabharata, located in the Bhisma-Parva chapters 23–40. ... Pañcaratra is an pre-Puranic form of Hinduism, which equated Narayana with Vishnu. ... The Tantra (Looms or Weavings), refer to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions rooted in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. ... Kumara Vyasa is one of the most famous poets in the Kannada language, spoken in the state of Karnataka, India. ... Stotras are Hindu prayers that praise aspects of God, such as Devi, Siva, or Vishnu. ... Hanuman Chalisa (Forty chaupais on Hanuman) is Tulsidas most famous and read piece of literature apart from the Ramacharitamanasa, a poem primarily praising Hanuman. ... ÅšrÄ« Rāmcaritmānas (Hindi: रामचरितमानस) is an epic poem composed by the great 16th-century Indian poet, Goswami Tulsidas (c. ... The Sanskrit language ( , ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. ... Pāli is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect or prakrit. ... The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, believed to have been spoken around 4000 BC in Central Asia (according to the Kurgan hypothesis) or millennia before that in Anatolia (according to the Anatolian hypothesis). ... Hinduism (Sanskrit: , , also known as , ) is a religion that originated on the Indian Subcontinent. ... The Vedas (Sanskrit: वेद) are the main scripture in Hinduism, and are a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. ... The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, Upanişad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ... Hindu philosophy (one of the main divisions of Indian philosophy) is traditionally seen through the prism of six different systems (called darshanas in Sanskrit) that are listed here and make up the main belief systems of Hinduism. ... Moksha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Dharma (Sanskrit धर्म) or Dhamma (Pāli) means Natural Law or Reality, and with respect to its significance for spirituality and religion might be considered the Way of the Higher Truths. ... Karma(Sanskrit: from the root , to do, [meaning deed] meaning action, effect, destiny) means (the result of) action, generally taken as a term that comprises the entire cycle of cause and effect. ... According to Hinduism, every living being is an eternally existing spirit (the soul or the self). ... Look up desire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In Buddhism, the term "sutra" refers generally to canonical scriptures that are regarded as records of the oral teachings of Gautama Buddha. In Chinese, these are known as 經 (pinyin: jīng). These teachings are assembled in the second part of the Tripitaka which is called Sutra Pitaka. There are also some Buddhist texts, such as the Platform Sutra, that are called sutras despite being attributed to much later authors. A replica of an ancient statue of Gautama Buddha, found in Sarnath, near Varanasi. ... There are a great variety of Buddhist texts. ... Standing Buddha sculpture, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ... Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell and yin means sound. The most common variant of pinyin in use is called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme... The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ... The Sutta Pitaka (or Sutra Pitaka) is the second of three divisions of the Tipitaka, the great Pali collection of Buddhist writings. ... The Platform Sutra (more fully, the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch) is a Buddhist scripture that was composed in China. ...

The Pali form of the word, sutta is used exclusively to refer to Buddhist scriptures, particularly those of the Pali Canon. Pāli is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect or prakrit. ... Standard edition of the Thai Pali Canon The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the Southern Buddhist (Theravada) tradition. ...

List

Below are some sutras listed under the broad categories of Hinduism, Buddhism and Other. Hinduism (Sanskrit: , , also known as , ) is a religion that originated on the Indian Subcontinent. ... A replica of an ancient statue of Gautama Buddha, found in Sarnath, near Varanasi. ...

Sutras primarily associated with Hinduism

Vedanga

• Shiksha (phonetics)
• Chandas (metrics)
• Vyakarana (grammar)
  • Ashtadhyayi (Panini), discussing grammar
• Nirukta (etymology)
• Jyotisha (astronomy)
• Kalpa (ritual)
  • Srauta Sutras, performance of sacrifices
  • Smarta Sutras
    • Grhya Sutras, covering domestic life
    • Samayacarika or Dharma Sutras
      • Sulba Sutras, architecture of sacrificial area

The Vedanga (IAST , member of the Veda) are six auxiliary disciplines for the understanding and tradition of the Vedas. ... Shiksha is an NGO devoted to improving the standards of education in New Delhi and its neighbouring regions. ... The verses of the Vedas have a variety of different meters. ... Sanskrit grammatical tradition (, one of the six Vedanga disciplines) begins in late Vedic India, and culminates in the AṣṭādhyāyÄ« of Pāṇini (ca. ... The Ashtadhyayi (Ạṣtādhyāyī, meaning eight chapters) is the earliest known grammar of Sanskrit, and one of the first works on descriptive linguistics, generative linguistics, or linguistics altogether. ... Panini can refer to: Pāṇini, the 5th century BC Sanskrit grammarian Panini (sandwich), a type of Italian sandwich Panini (stickers), a brand of collectible stickers Giovanni Paolo Panini, an Italian artist This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Nirukta is Vedic glossary of difficult words. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Kalpa is one of the six disciplines of Vedanga, treating ritual. ... The Shrautasutras () form a part of the corpus of Sanskrit Sutra literature. ... This article needs translation. ... The Grhya Sutras domestic sutras are a category of Sanskrit texts in the tradition of the Brahmanas, commenting on Vedic ritual. ... Kalpa is one of the six disciplines of Vedanga, treating ritual. ... The Sulba Sutras or Sulva Sutras are a text of Vedic mathematics. ...

Vedanta

• Brahma Sutras (or Vedanta Sutra) (Badarayana)

Vedanta (Devanagari: , ) is a school of philosophy within Hinduism. ... The Brahma sūtra, also called Vedanta Sūtras, constitute the Nyāya prasthāna, the logical starting point of the Vedānta philosophy (Nyāya = logic/order). ... Rishi Veda Vyasa is a Hindu figure of yore, a divine guru, a luminary of spirituality whose status in Hinduism is equal to that of the gods and goddesses. ...

Hindu philosophy

• Yoga Sutras
• Nyaya Sutras
• Vaisheshika Sutras
• Purva Mimamsa Sutras

Hindu philosophy (one of the main divisions of Indian philosophy) is traditionally seen through the prism of six different systems (called darshanas in Sanskrit) that are listed here and make up the main belief systems of Hinduism. ... This article is in need of attention. ... The Nyaya-sutras were composed by Aksapada Gautama (c. ... The Purva Mimamsa Sutras are the primary text of the Mimamsa school of Indian philosophy. ...

Kamashastra

• Kama Sutra, written by Vatsyayana, the sutra of kama (sensual gratification), explains sexuality and sexual practices.

In Hinduism, Kamashastra (from Kama = pleasure shastra = specialised knowledge or technique) was a document about sex written by Nandi, the disciple of lord Shiva. ... For other articles with similar names, see Kama Sutra (disambiguation). ... Vatsyayana is a scholar (Rishi) from India. ... Best understood as aesthetics, the definition of Kama involves sensual gratification, sexual fulfillment, pleasure of the senses, love, and the ordinary enjoyments of life regarded as one of the four ends of man (purusharthas). ...

Sutras primarily associated with Buddhism

See: Buddhist texts There are a great variety of Buddhist texts. ...

Other Sutras

• Smokey the Bear Sutra, Written by American poet Gary Snyder (b. 1930) in 1969, which presents 20th century environmental concerns and convictions in the form of a Buddhist sutra. It is widely available on the internet due to the author's grant of free reproduction of the text. See Wikisource - Smokey the Bear Sutra.

The Smokey the Bear Sutra is a 1992 poem by Gary Snyder which presents environmental concerns in the form of a Buddhist sutra, and depicts Smokey as the reincarnation of Vairocana Buddha. ... Young Gary Snyder, on one of his early book covers Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Devils Punchbowl Waterfall, New Zealand. ...

See also

• Smriti
• Chinese Buddhist canon
• Tibetan Buddhist canon

Smriti (Sanskrit स्मॄति, that which is remembered) refers to a specific canon of Hindu religious scripture. ... The Chinese Buddhist Canon is called in Chinese 大藏經 or Dazangjing (literally Scriptures of the Great Store). The modern standardized Japanese edition of this work is known as the Taisho Shinshu Daizokyo, published in Tokyo between 1924 and 1929. ... The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined list of sacred texts recognized by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism. ...

References

• Monier-Williams, Monier. (1899) A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass. p. 1241

External links

• Chinese repository of Buddhist Sutras translated into English. Also has other texts.
• Mahayana Buddhist Sutras in English
• More Mahayana Sutras
• The Hindu Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, and Vedanta Sacred-texts.com
• A Modern Sutra
• Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon
• Pali Suttas at Access to Insight
• Ida B. Wells Memorial Sutra Lirary (Pali Suttas)