The literature of Sanatana Dharma covers a wide variety of topics like theology, philosophies, music, arts, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, etc.
The focus of Sanatana Dharma on a continuous discovery of Truth, and the absence of dogma, created an environment of inquiry in all spheres of life. This covered the spiritual, the artistic and the scientific aspects. The Universities of ancient India enabled scholarship in all these areas. These inquiries were also necessary for the practical life of a Hindu, for example, the use of astronomy to formulate calendars required to calculate festival dates, or trigonometry and architecture to construct temples.
At the pinnacle of this literature are the scriptures of Sanatana Dharma. These are supplemented by books like:
- The Smritis: Books of customs and laws, like the Yajnavalkaya Smriti, the Manu Smriti, the Parasara Smirti, etc.
- The Agamas or Tantras: Books covering rituals, including the building and care of temples, and of the deities that reside in them. Examples include the Vaishnava Agama, Shaiva Agama, Sakta Agama, etc.
- The Darshanas: Books on the various schools of Hindu philosophy, e.g., the Nyaya Sutras, the Vaisheshika Sutra, the Yoga Sutras, the Purva Mimamsa Sutras, etc.
- The Natya Shastra: A treatise on Performing Arts
- The Arthashastra: A compendium on economics and strategic affairs
- The Ashtadhyayi: A detailed book on Grammar
- The Chanda Shastra: A study of poetic metres and verse in Sanskrit
- The Charaka Samhita and The Sushruta Samhita: Ayurvedic texts on Medicine and Surgery
- The Mayamata: A Sanskrit text on housing architecture and temple construction
- The Nyaya Sutras: A set of books on knowledge, logic, epistemology and metaphysics
- The Sthapatya Veda: A book on the connection between people and the buildings in which they live and work
- The Vymanika Shastra: A book on aeronautics covering construction, working of engines, and other related topics
- The Rasa Ratna Samuchaya: A book on complex metallurgical processes
Books such as these have expanded on the scientific basis of Hinduism and many of them are of ancient origin, with the concepts even referenced in works central to Hinduism like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The writing of books such as these has been a continuous process from the ancient age, with some works as recent as the 16th and 17th centuries.
