Gyani Baile & Dolly Baile

shastra: the science of rituals and ceremonials in religious rites, and 6)
Jyotish: the science of astronomy and astrology.
The profound and complex philosophy of the Upanishads is simplified
and composed in the form of parables and stories in the set of books called
Ithihasa or Epics. There are total four epics 1) Ramayan, 2)
Mahabharat, 3) Yogavashishta and 4) Harivamsa. Of these the
Ramayan and Mahabharat are most commonly known and read. They
teach the ideals of Hinduism in a simple way.
There is another set of books called Puranas. There are total 18
Puranas and 18 Upa Puranas. The three most popular Puranas are
Bhagavata, Vishnu, and Markandeya purana. The Puranas are not
meant for the intellectuals, or spiritually advanced but they do convey the
truths of the Vedas and dharma shastras in the form of moral stories which
are entertaining and educational. Through these stories are taught the
fundamentals of spirituality like the importance or prayer and meditation,
amazing results of devotion, virtue of generosity, adhering to truth etc. It
is in Puranas, though, that one finds about the ten incarnations or Avatars
of Lord Vishnu on earth namely in the form of Matsya (fish), Kurma
(tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narasimha (half man half lion), Vamana
(the dwarf), Parsurama (the angry man), Rama (the perfect man, the
main character from epic Ramayan), Krishna divine statesman, the
main charter of Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharat), and the Buddha (the
compassionate man).
Another type of scriptures, called Agamas, lay down the separate
theological disciplines and doctrines for the worship of particular deities.
Described in Agamas are three main sects Shaiva, Vaishnava, and
Shakta. In Shaiva agama God worshipped in the form of Lord Shiva. In
Vaishnava agama God is worshipped in the form of Vishnu. Shakta
agama glorifies Devi, the consort of Shiva, as the World Mother and
energy giving power behind creation, sustenance and destruction. Each
Agama consists of three parts: 1) Philosophy and spiritual knowledge
behind the worship of the deity, 2) Yoga and the mental discipline
required for each school of philosophy, 3) rules for constructing
temples.
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