Part I: Origins—From Sound to Scripture
Before Hindu sacred texts were manuscripts, they were breath—syllables preserved in human memory across generations. This section explores the earliest layers of Hindu textual history: the oral traditions that resisted writing, the emergence of multiple śākhās (schools) preserving different versions, and the gradual transition from sound to script. These foundations reveal not a single revealed book, but a living constellation of sacred knowledge shaped by rishis, priests, and communities who understood that the divine word required human voices to remain alive.