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It is said that non-brahmins are not allowed to recite the vedas. However, are they allowed to read any of the spiritual texts or scriptures? What about the upanishads, the puranas, etc.?

Rickross
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user15740
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    Upanishads are technically Vedas, so they cannot. But they can learn Itihasa, Puranas, Agamas. – Spark Sunshine Feb 09 '19 at 02:24
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    These days, anyone can read anything. –  Feb 09 '19 at 02:35
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    the point of any system of law is that not everything that is physically possible should be allowed. – ram Feb 09 '19 at 04:10
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    It shd be non-dvijas and not non-brahmins .. there are few posts already on this topic .. for e.g. this: https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/16625/are-sudras-not-allowed-to-study-any-scriptures-of-hindusim – Rickross Feb 09 '19 at 06:47
  • Since non-dvijas=sudras this Q is a duplicate of the the Q I linked in the previous comment – Rickross Feb 09 '19 at 08:43
  • @ Rickross: Is any dvija allowed to read the veda, or is it only the brahmins? – user15740 Feb 09 '19 at 14:35

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Srmadbhagavam says (1/4/25) that "trayi" (which means both the A-U-M and the three vedas, should not be heard by women and the fallen dwijas and sudras.

The Vedas include the Upanishads.

So the traditional belief says only dwijas who are initiated by Gayatri mantra and perform Sandhya-Vandana regularly canread the Veads.

All other scriptures like the Itihasa, the Puranas, the smritis and Tantras can be read by the non-brahmins.

These apply only to those who want to get the results of reading scriptures as described in the scriptures. For intellectual interest, anybody can read anything.

Following 'Adhikara' and 'Anadhikaara' are only for those who have sraddha for iur tradition and culture.

  • "For intellectual interest, anybody can read anything." Can you provide some quotations to support this statement? – user15740 Feb 09 '19 at 14:31
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    @user15740 thats what happening these days. no quotation needed –  Feb 09 '19 at 14:58