The s (Devanagari: ) are part of the Hindu śruti literature. They are commentaries on the four Vedas, detailing the proper performance of rituals. Each Vedic shakha (school) had its own Brahmana, and it isn't known how many of these texts existed during the Mahajanapadas period. About twenty in number have survived into modern times. The Brahmanas were also seminal in developing later Indian thought and scholarship, including Hindu philosophy, predecessors of Vedanta, law, astronomy, ge… (More on Brahmana)