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Vedic Literature

An interactive map of Sanātana Dharma's knowledge system — Śruti and Smṛti, down to the Vedāṅgas, Upavedas, Darśanas, Purāṇas, Itihāsas and Āgamas — each with a brief explanation.

"Ananta vai vedāḥ" — the systems of knowledge are infinite.
Śruti is apaurusheya (not authored by any person); it was perceived by sages, then classified into the four Vedas by Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Veda Vyāsa), and has been preserved through inscriptions, manuscripts, and above all the oral Guru-Śiṣya Paramparā.

Śruti — heard, eternal Smṛti — remembered Vidyāsthāna — classification systems

Vedic Literature

Śruti is authoritative in itself; Smṛti is authoritative only insofar as it doesn't contradict Śruti. Where the two conflict, Śruti prevails.

Every Veda itself splits into two aspects
Veda Pūrva (the "doing" portion: Saṁhitā + Brāhmaṇa + Āraṇyaka) and
Vedānta / Veda Anta (the "remembering" portion: Upaniṣad)
Presented tersely and non-sequentially by Śruti, and elaborated by Smṛti.

Veda Pūrva

about doing · Karma Kāṇḍa · Pravṛtti Mārga

Based on self-purification, Citta Śuddhi
Preparing oneself to receive the knowledge.
Integrates Karma (action) and Bhakti (devotion) as the means.
Brahma-anubhava (experience of Brahman) is worked toward through Citta Śuddhi.
Caters to a life of activity
the progressive, world-engaging path.
Smṛti elaborates this portion at length and does not ridicule it; Śruti, by contrast, does — not the rituals themselves, but a doer who gets stuck seeking results (e.g. attachment to Brahma Loka), and favours immediate Jīvan Mukti over gradual Krama Mukti.

Vedānta (Veda Anta)

about remembering · Jñāna Kāṇḍa · Nivṛtti Mārga

Knowledge of the Self
One is already pure; nothing needs to be added.
No other Sādhanā is required beyond knowing itself
Śravaṇa (hearing the truth).
Brahma-anubhava is ever-present; the task is only to remember what was forgotten.
Caters to a life of renunciation
The resolving, withdrawing path.
The Upaniṣads make direct statements rather than following a logical sequence, which is what makes them difficult; the Bhagavad Gītā (Brahma-vidyā and Yoga Śāstra) and the Brahma Sūtra (a purely systematic treatise) later sequentialise this same thought.

Śruti - That which was heard Apaurusheya knowledge perceived by Mantra-draṣṭā seers in deep meditation, not authored by any person, hence faultless and applied since the beginning of creation. Final authority, applicable to all people, everywhere, for all time; presented poetically and cryptically, without any sequential order.

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Smṛti - That which is remembered Authored by sages who mastered Śruti and applied its principles, through their own experience, to a given people, place and period. Being man-made it can carry the flaws of its author, and — since Śruti proved hard to grasp — it simplifies and elaborates the same guidance for the masses, in a logical, sequential form.

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Vidyāsthāna Literally "seats of learning" — traditional systems classifying the whole body of sacred knowledge into a fixed number of core subjects, mentioned in texts like the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas.
A student who masters the six Vedāṅgas is called Śrotriyam;
one established in both Veda Pūrva and Vedānta is called Brahma-niṣṭham.

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14 Vidyāsthānas (Chaturdaśa)

The 4 Vedas + the 6 Vedāṅgas + 4 Upāṅgas (Mīmāṁsā, Nyāya, Purāṇa, and Dharma Śāstra)

18 Vidyāsthānas (Aṣṭādaśa)

The 4 Vedas + the 6 Vedāṅgas + 4 Upāṅgas (Mīmāṁsā, Nyāya, Purāṇa, and Dharma Śāstra) + 4 Upavedas (Āyurveda, Dhanurveda, Gāndharvaveda, Arthaśāstra)

A related, separate count: sage Nārada is said to have enumerated 64 Kalās (arts/skills) — practical and artistic accomplishments distinct from, but complementary to, the Vidyāsthānas.