Hindu texts Prior to the start of the common era, the Hindu texts were composed orally, then memorized and transmitted orally, from one generation to next, for more than a millennia before they were written down into manuscripts. This verbal tradition of preserving and transmitting Hindu texts, from one generation to next, continued into the modern era. The Vedas are a large body of Hindu texts originating in ancient India, with its Samhita and Brahmanas complete before about 800 BCE. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit hymns, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Hindus consider
Religion in China texts were translated into Chinese, including a large number of Indian Tantric texts and the Vedas, which are known in Chinese as the "Minglun" or "Zhilun", or through phonetic transliteration as the "Weituo", "Feituo" or "Pituo". Various Chinese Buddhist monks dedicated themselves to the study of Hindu scriptures, thought and practice. In the Sui (581–618) and later Tang dynasty (618–907), Hindu texts translated into Chinese included the "Śulvasūtra", the "Śulvaśāstra" and the "Prescriptions of Brahmin Rishis". The Tibetans contributed with the translation into Chinese of the "Pāṇinisūtra" and the "Rāmāyaṇa". In the 7th century there was an intellectual exchange between