| Puranas | Divided into sarga, pratisarga, manvantantar, vamsa (genealogical list of kings) & |
| vamsanucharita. 18 main puranas & 18 subsidiary puranas. | |
| Vedas | Meaning “knowledge”. Rigveda (hymns), Yajurveda (sacrificial formulae), Atharvaveda |
| (magical charms & spell), Samveda. Vedas are called aparusheya (not created by man) & | |
| nity | |
| Upanishads | About 200 in number. Deal with philosophy. Oldest & most important are Chhandogya & |
| Brihadranyaka. Other important are Kathak, Isa, Mundaka, Prasna etc. Do not believe in | |
| sacrificial ceremonies. | |
| Brahmanas | Talks about vedic hymns, their application, stories of their origin. Each Brahmana is |
| associated with one of the four VedasAitareya brahmana is associated with Rig Veda & | |
| Satapatha Brahmana with Yajur veda. | |
| Aranyakas | Meaning ‘the forest books’. They discuss philosophical meditation & sacrifice. |
| Vedangas | Evolved for proper understanding of the Vedas. Six in all: Siksha (phonetics), Kalpa |
| (rituals), Vyakarna, Nirukta (Etymology) Chhanda (metrics) & Jyotisha. | |
| Vedanta | Advaita Vedanta of Adi Sankara. |
Ancient Books & Authors
| 1. | Mudrakshasha (Chandragupta Maurya defeating the Nandas); | Vishakhadatta |
| Devichandraguptam | ||
| 2. | Malavikagnimitram (Pushyamitra Sunga) | Kalidas |
| 3. | Gudavaho (Yasovarman of Kannauj) | Vakpati |
| 4. | Vikramanakadevacharita (Chalukya king Vikramaditya) | Bilhana |
| 5. | Kumarapalacharita | Jayasimha |
| 6. | Hammirakavya | Nyayachandra |
| 7. | Dvayashraya Mahakavya; Sapta Sadhana | Hemchandra |
| 8. | Navashasankacharita | Padmagupta |
| 9. | Bhojaprabandha | Billal |
| 10. | Prithvirajcharita | Chandrabardai |
| 11. | Meghaduta; Raghuvamsa; Kumarasambhava; Vikramorvasiyam | Kalidas |
| Abhijnanashakuntalam (Drama); | ||
| 12. | Mrichakatika | Sudraka |
| 13. | Uttarama-Charita; Malati Madhava | Bhavbhuti |
| 14. | Amarakosha | Amarasimha |
| 15. | Si-yu-Ki | Hiuen Tsang |
| 16. | Brahmasiddhanta; Khandakhadya | Brahmagupta |
| 17. | Dasakumaracharita | Dandin |
| 18. | Astanga-Sangraha; Astanga-Hirdaya-Samhita | Vagabhatta |
| 19. | Panchsiddhantika; Suryasiddhanta; Brihatsamhita | Varahamihira |
| 20. | Karpuramanjari; Bala Ramayana; Bala Bharata; Kavyamimamsa; | Rajshekhara |
| Bhuvana Kosha; Haravilasa | ||
| 21. | Adinathacharita (Jaina Narrative) | Vardhamana |
| 22. | Shantinathacharita (Jaina Narrative) | Devachandra |
| 23. | Parsvanathacharita (Jaina Narrative) | Devabhadra |
| 24. | Prithviraja Vijay | Jayanka |
| 25. | Karnasundari | Bilhana |
| 26. | Saraswati Kanthabharana | Bhoja |
| 27. | Dasharupa | Dhananjaya |
| 28. | Harikeli Nataka | Visaladeva |
| 29. | Prasannaraghava | Jayadeva |
| 30. | Siddhanta Shiromani [4 parts – Lilavati, Bijaganita, Grahaganita & | Bhaskaracharya |
| Gola (on Astronomy)] | ||
| 31. | Rajmariganka (On Astronomy) | King Bhoja |
| 32. | Chikitsakalika or Yogamala | Tisata-Vagbhatta’s Son |
| 33. | Mitakasara | Vijnanaeshvara |
| 34. | Nitishastra (On Polity) | Mathara |
| 35. | Nitisara (On Polity) | Kamandaka |
| 36. | Sushruta Samhita (encyclopedia on surgery) | Sushruta |
| 37. | Charaka Samhita (Teachings of Atreya) | Charaka |
| 38. | Buddhacharita, Vajrasuchi, Suandarananda | Asvaghosha |
| 39. | Mahabhasya | Patanjali |
| 40. | Harshacharita, Kadambari | Banabhatta |
| 41. | Ravan Vadha | Bhattin |