Smriti

Remembered scripture — texts transmitted by tradition rather than directly revealed in the Vedas.

Overview

Smriti is the category of scripture that is remembered/traditional rather than directly revealed (see shruti). In the prasthanatraya scheme, the bhagavad-gita is the smriti prasthana because it forms part of the mahabharata — it is not within the Vedas themselves. Krishna comes much later in the Mahabharata and gives the teaching to Arjuna there.

Related concepts

• Contrasts with shruti
• Applied to bhagavad-gita (via mahabharata)
• Part of prasthanatraya

Lecture evidence

• Ep. 1 [25:30]: Gita is smriti because it is part of the Mahabharata, not the Vedas themselves.