The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (992 page)

(scripture) denotes all writings which at least some Hindus regard as revealed, which may therefore extend beyond the core corpus. Revered by most Hindus is
Bhagavad-g
t
, and the majority regard it as revealed. Gathering
ruti material are many
s
tras
, but since they do not contain new material they are not usually cited as authorities in debate.
The second major source of authority is found in the texts of
sm
ti
(‘that which has been remembered’, tradition) which are much more closely concerned with the details of everyday life; among these texts,
Manusm
ti
is held in particularly high esteem. Much of
ruti and sm
ti has been gathered into itih
sapur
a (ancient histories), of which the two great epics
Mah
bh
rata
and
R
m
ya
a