1600–1000 bce
Vedic Saṃhitās
1100–600 bce
Brāhmaṇas, Āraṇyakas
Vedic religion
800–500 bce
Early Upaniṣads
600–300 bce
Śrautasūtras
500 bce – 200 ce Middle Upaniṣads
400 bce – 400 ce Gṛhyasūtras
Early Hinduism
400 bce – 400 ce Sanskrit Epics
300 bce – 100 ce Dharmasūtras
200–800 ce
Smṛtis, Dharmaśāstras
Classical Hinduism
400–1000 ce
Gṛhyapariśiṣṭas
500–800 ce
Early Tantric texts
Tantric/Purāṇic Hinduism
600–1000 ce
(Early) Purāṇas
**Table 1: **Periodization and approximate dating of the various types of source texts
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