Classical Corpus Library

Bhagavad Gītā

The Bhagavad Gītā is a 700-verse philosophical and spiritual dialogue embedded in the Mahābhārata (Bhīṣma Parva), between the warrior prince Arjuna and Lord Kṛṣṇa on the battlegrou...

Nāṭyaśāstra

The Nāṭyaśāstra attributed to sage Bharata Muni is the foundational classical treatise on Indian dramaturgy, theatre architecture, performance, music, dance (Tāṇḍava, Karaṇas), and...

Pātañjala Yoga Sūtras

The foundational classical treatise of Yoga philosophy attributed to Maharṣi Patañjali, outlining citta-vṛtti-nirodha, the eight limbs of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga, and the path to Kaivalya.

Śiva Sūtras

The foundational 77 aphorisms of Kashmir Shaivism revealed to sage Vasugupta, expounding the nature of reality as universal consciousness (Caitanyam Ātmā).

Īśā Upaniṣad

The 40th chapter of the Śukla Yajurveda, celebrated for synthesizing transcendent contemplation and righteous dynamic action.

Meghadūtam

Kālidāsa’s exquisite lyric poem of an exiled Yakṣa sending a cloud-messenger across India to his beloved in Alakā.

Kumārasambhavam

Kālidāsa’s epic poem on the cosmic penance of Śiva and Pārvatī and the birth of the wargod Kumāra.

Raghuvaṁśam

The great dynasty chronicle of the solar kings from Dilīpa and Raghu to Rāma and his successors.

Ṛtusaṁhāram

The lyrical pageant of the six Indian seasons from the scorching summer to fragrant spring.

Abhijñānaśākuntalam

The pinnacle of classical Sanskrit drama dramatizing the love, separation, and reunion of King Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā.

Pañcatantram

The timeless world-treasure of interrelated animal fables teaching nīti (political prudence and worldly wisdom).

Kirātārjunīyam

Bhāravi’s heroic epic of Arjuna’s penance in the Himalayas and his encounter with Śiva as a mountain hunter.

Śiśupālavadham

Māgha’s supreme display of verbal brilliance, metrics, and statecraft recounting Kṛṣṇa’s slaying of Śiśupāla.

Bhaṭṭikāvyam

The story of Rāma composed to simultaneously teach the entirety of Pāṇinian grammar and rhetoric.

Amarukaśatakam

A century of miniature lyric masterpieces capturing the psychological subtleties of romantic love.

Śatakatrayam

Bhartṛhari’s three centuries of verse on worldly wisdom (Nīti), erotic passion (Śṛṅgāra), and ascetic detachment (Vairāgya).

Naiṣadhīyacaritam

The exquisite romance of Nala and Damayantī celebrated as the most intellectually sophisticated Mahākāvya.

Kādambarīsaṅgraha

The lyrical condensation of Bāṇabhaṭṭa’s matchless prose romance of eternal lovers across lifetimes.

Mahābhārata

The supreme monumental epic of civilisational dharma, philosophy, statecraft, and spiritual ethics composed across eighteen Parvas by Maharṣi Vyāsa.

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇam

The foundational epic of Sanskrit literature composed by the Ādikavi Vālmīki across seven Kāṇḍas (Bāla, Ayodhyā, Araṇya, Kiṣkindhā, Sundara, Yuddha, and Uttara), embodying civilisa...

Śṛṅgāraprakāśa of Bhoja

The monumental Sanskrit encyclopaedia of aesthetics, dramaturgy, and grammar composed by King Bhoja of Dhārā (11th c. CE), synthesizing grammatical philosophy with ahaṅkāra-śṛṅgāra...

Saundaryalaharī

The supreme classical Śākta masterpiece on Śrīvidyā, Kundalinī yoga, and the transcendent beauty of the Divine Mother Tripurasundarī.

Ṛgveda Saṁhitā

The foundational scripture of Indian civilization and the oldest extant Indo-European literary monument, organized across ten Maṇḍalas into 1,028 visionary sūktas.

Śukla Yajurveda Saṁhitā (Vājasaneyi)

The foundational liturgy of Vedic sacrificial rites (yajña) and esoteric wisdom, revealed to sage Yājñavalkya by the solar deity Vivasvān across forty monumental Adhyāyas (includin...

Atharvaveda Saṁhitā (Śaunaka)

The fourth Veda, encompassing esoteric spells, healing hymns, ecological hymns (Bhūmi Sūkta), statecraft, and profound cosmological inquiries composed across twenty Kāṇḍas.

Sāmaveda Saṁhitā (Kauthuma)

The third Veda, revered as the celestial song-book containing 1,875 musical mantras (sāmans) arranged for melodic chanting (udgītha) by the Udgātṛ priests during solemn Soma ritual...