Discuss the terms “śrūti” and “smṛti” (as discussed in class and yourtextbook) in reference to all the different kinds of sacred literature thatwe have read
thus far in the class. Why have Hindu texts beenorganized into these two groups and what are the implications of this?For instance, what are the historical or
religious implications of thesecategories? Do texts transmitted through chanting (eg., Vedic oral andmnemonic systems of memorization) alone differ from
texts that arewritten down (on palm leaf or in stone, etc)? How so? The literatureyou should consider are includes the Vedas (including the Four Vedas,the
Brahmanas, and the Upanisads), the Epics (including theMahābhārata which contains the Bhagavad Gītā), the Dharmaśastras,etc. Do the texts themselves
concur with this systemization? Forinstance, does the Gītā recognize the authority of the Vedas over itsown authority?
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