The Vedas are a corpus of ancient Indo-Aryan religious literature associated with the Vedic civilisation and are considered by adherents of Hinduism to be revealed knowledge. Many Hindus believe that the Vedas were not written by anyone (including God), but are eternally existing (apaurusheya). While many historians regard the Vedas as some of the oldest surviving texts, they estimate them to have been written down between 1500 and 500 BCE.

The Vedas consist of several kinds of texts, all of which date back to ancient times. The core is formed by the Mantras which represent hymns, prayers, incantations, magic and ritual formulas, charms etc. The hymns and prayers are addressed to a pantheon of gods (and a few goddesses), important members of which are Rudra, Varuna, Indra, Agni, etc. The mantras are supplemented by texts regarding the sacrificial rituals in which these mantras are used as well as texts exploring the philosophical aspects of the ritual tradition, narratives etc.

Philosophies and sects that developed in the Indian subcontinent have taken differing positions on the Vedas. In Buddhism and Jainism, the authority of the Veda is repudiated, and both evolved into separate religions. The sects which did not explicitly reject the Vedas remained followers of the Sanatana Dharma, which is known in modern times as Hinduism. In later Hinduism, the Vedas hold an exalted position. They are regarded as ?ruti, i.e., revelation, and the Brahminical caste based on the Vedas forms an important part of Hindu religious life to this day. Vedanta, Yoga, Tantra, and even Bhakti acknowledge the Vedas as revelation.

Hinduism consists of several schools of thought. It encompasses many religious rituals that widely vary in practice, as well as many diverse sects and philosophies. Hindus venerate an array of deities, or consider them as manifestations of the one Supreme monistic Cosmic Spirit Brahman, while many others focus on a singular concept of God, such as in Vaishnavism, Saivism and Shaktism.[1] Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world with approximately 970 million adherents (2005 figure), approximately 900 million of whom live in India

Themes common to the value system of Hindus is the belief in Dharma (individual ethics, duties and obligations), Samsara (Reincarnation/rebirth), Karma ("actions", leading to a cause and effect relationship), and Moksha (salvation) of every soul through a variety of paths, such as Bhakti (devotion), Karma (selfless action) and Jñana (enlightenment, knowledge), and of course, belief in God (Ishvara)

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