sruti

The term śruti refers to the sacred revealed texts of Hinduism, regarded as divinely originated and transmitted orally before being written down.

In Hindu tradition, śruti (from Sanskrit, meaning “what is heard”) designates texts believed to be of divine origin, revealed to sages (ṛṣi) through spiritual audition, rather than authored by humans. Śruti forms the foundational scriptural corpus of Hinduism, carrying supreme authority in doctrinal and ritual matters.

Śruti includes:

the Vedas (Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda);

the Brāhmaṇas, ritual commentaries;

the Āraṇyakas, meditative and symbolic texts;

the Upaniṣads, philosophical and metaphysical treatises.

These texts were preserved for centuries through strict oral transmission before being committed to writing. Śruti is distinct from smṛti (“what is remembered”), which refers to later, human-authored works interpreting śruti.

Although central to orthodox Hinduism, śruti is not necessarily the primary reference for all schools or devotional movements, some of which rely more on epic or sectarian scriptures.