Library

The canon, and the framework it gives us

What is taught The library Pathways Professions

You do not invent a syllabus for Sanatan education. The canon already has a structure scholars have agreed on for centuries. Derive the curriculum from that and it is defensible from the first day.

10divisions

32branches

28the board can teach

4belong elsewhere

How this works Corpus → framework → pathway → what India already teaches Every branch below names the kind of institution in India that already teaches it — so a student knows where this sits, and the board knows whose recognition to seek rather than duplicate.

Shruti — what was heard

Revealed, unauthored, preserved by recitation

The four Vedas Each Veda carries four layers: Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka, Upanishad RigvedaYajurvedaSamavedaAtharvaveda Board can teach and examine Veda pathshalas, teaching shakha by shakha

Upanishads The end of the Veda — its philosophy rather than its ritual The principal tenThe wider corpus Board can teach and examine Sanskrit universities, Vedanta mathas

Vedangas — the six limbs

What you must know to use the Veda correctly

Shiksha Phonetics and correct pronunciation — svara and sandhi Board can teach and examine Veda pathshalas, alongside recitation

Kalpa Ritual procedure: Shrauta, Grihya, Dharma and Shulba sutras Board can teach and examine Karmakanda schools and purohit training

Vyakarana Grammar — Panini's Ashtadhyayi and its commentaries Board can teach and examine Sanskrit universities and traditional tols

Nirukta Etymology — Yaska, for the meaning of Vedic words Board can teach and examine Sanskrit universities

Chandas Metre — the shape a verse must take Board can teach and examine Sanskrit universities

Jyotisha Reckoning of time; the calendar and the sky Board can teach and examine Jyotish parishads and traditional lineages

Upavedas — the applied knowledge

Attached to the Vedas, turned outward

Ayurveda Medicine, attached to the Atharvaveda Belongs to another authority Ayurvedic colleges under statutory councils

Dhanurveda Arms and warfare Belongs to another authority Largely a living tradition rather than a taught one

Gandharvaveda Music and performance Belongs to another authority Music gharanas and universities

Sthapatyaveda Architecture and sculpture — shilpa shastra Belongs to another authority Sthapati lineages and a few institutes

Darshanas — the six systems

Six ways of arguing the same question

Nyaya Logic and the means of valid knowledge Board can teach and examine Sanskrit universities and mathas

Vaisheshika Categories, atomism, the constituents of things Board can teach and examine Sanskrit universities

Samkhya Purusha and prakriti; enumeration of principles Board can teach and examine Sanskrit universities

Yoga Patanjali's sutras and the practice they describe Board can teach and examine Yoga institutes and Sanskrit universities

Purva Mimamsa The interpretation of ritual injunction Board can teach and examine Mimamsa schools, now few

Vedanta Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita and the rest Board can teach and examine Mathas of each sampradaya

Itihasa — what happened

History told so that it teaches

Ramayana Valmiki; and Ramcharitmanas, Kamba Ramayanam and others Board can teach and examine Kathavachak tradition, temples, schools

Mahabharata Including the Bhagavad Gita and Shanti Parva Board can teach and examine Kathavachak tradition, mathas, universities

Puranas

Cosmology, lineage and devotion, told for everyone

The eighteen Mahapuranas Bhagavata, Vishnu, Shiva, Markandeya, Garuda and the rest Board can teach and examine Katha tradition and temple discourse

The Upapuranas A wider body, regionally important Board can teach and examine Regional traditions

Agama and Tantra

How a temple is built, consecrated and worshipped

Shaiva agamas 28 agamas; the basis of most South Indian Shiva temples Board can teach and examine Agama pathshalas, Shaiva mathas

Pancharatra and Vaikhanasa The two Vaishnava temple traditions Board can teach and examine Vaishnava sampradaya schools

Shakta tantra Devi worship and its texts Board can teach and examine Shakta lineages

Dharma and conduct

What a person owes, and to whom

Dharmashastra Manu, Yajnavalkya, Narada and their commentaries Board can teach and examine Sanskrit universities; read historically

Niti literature Vidura Niti, Chanakya Niti, Subhashita Board can teach and examine Schools and general reading

Bhakti and sant literature

The tradition in the languages people speak

North and west Tulsidas, Surdas, Kabir, Mirabai, Tukaram, Namdev Board can teach and examine Regional traditions and temples

South Alvars' Divya Prabandham, Nayanars' Tevaram and Tiruvasagam Board can teach and examine Temple traditions, Tamil scholarship

East and north-east Chaitanya tradition, Sankardeva's works Board can teach and examine Mathas and satras

Stotra and prayoga

What is actually recited, daily

Stotra literature Chalisa, sahasranama, ashtakam, suktam Board can teach and examine Every temple and household

Paddhati and prayoga The working manuals a purohit uses Board can teach and examine Purohit training, guru to student

Ayurveda sits under statutory medical councils and Dhanurveda is a living tradition rather than a taught one. Both are in the canon and neither is ours to certify. A board that claims the whole canon claims more than it can examine, and every certificate it holds is worth less for it.