One of the great texts of Vaishnavism, it primarily centers around its supreme deity, Lord Vishnu, and his avatars such as Krishna.

Another key text in Vaishnavism, the Garuda Purana centers again around Lord Vishnu, this time in the form of a dialog between Vishnu and Garuda, the King of Birds.

Composed in Sanskrit by Veda Vyasa, the text is considered as a major purana for Devi devotees.

This is an excerpt from a much larger work, the the Srimad Devî Bhagavatam, which describes an incarnation of the goddess Devi who speaks on her nature and how she wants to be worshipped, particularly with Yogic practices, meditation and rituals.

Based on the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana, this is the tale of the deeds of Krishna, composed by Lallu Lal between 1804 and 1810.

The Mahabharata is an ancient religious epic originally composed in Sanskrit. It tells of the many adventures of Krishna.

Bernadette J. Brooten is the Kraft-Hiatt professor of Christian studies, women’s and gender studies, classical studies, and religious studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. She is also the founder and director of the Brandeis Feminist Sexual Ethics Project. She is an expert in the history of sexuality in the Bible and is author of […]

This epic is actually book six of the Mahabharata, but often stands on its own. It is told as a dialogue between Krishna and the soldier Arjuna on a battlefield before the fighting begins. It was composed about 200 B.C. and numerous online editions are available.

This is an epic tale of the adventures of the deity Rama who fights to free his love, Sita, from the hold of Ravan, the King of Ceylon. Sacred-Texts.com has an online translation by Ralph T.H. Griffith.