For those who stand within the Smarta tradition, the scriptural foundation is rooted first and foremost in the Vedic revelation and its Vedāntic culmination. The four Vedas—Ṛg, Yajur, Sāma, and Atharva—together with the principal Upaniṣads, form the primary source for understanding reality. Upaniṣads such as Īśa, Kena, Kaṭha, Praśna, Muṇḍaka, Māṇḍūkya, Taittirīya, Aitareya, Chāndogya, and Bṛhadāraṇyaka are especially cherished, since they articulate the non‑dual vision of Brahman that undergirds Smarta theology. These texts are not approached merely as ritual manuals or philosophical treatises, but as the highest testimony (śruti) to the nature of the Self and the Absolute.

Alongside this primary layer, Smartas also honor a broad range of smṛti literature, which gives shape to both philosophical reflection and devotional life. Central among these are the Bhagavad Gītā and the Brahma Sūtras (Vedānta Sūtras), which, together with the Upaniṣads, form a triad of authority for Advaita Vedānta. The great epics, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, and the Purāṇas—especially those that extol deities such as Viṣṇu, Śiva, Devī, Gaṇeśa, and Sūrya—serve to embody the non‑dual truth in narrative, mythic, and ritual forms. Dharmaśāstras and Gṛhya Sūtras further guide ethical conduct and domestic rites, ensuring that the Advaitic vision is lived out in the texture of everyday life.

A distinctive feature of Smarta practice is the way these scriptural sources are read through the lens of Advaita Vedānta, particularly as articulated by Ādi Śaṅkarācārya. His commentaries on the Upaniṣads, the Bhagavad Gītā, and the Brahma Sūtras, along with other Advaitic works, provide the interpretive key by which the many deities and narratives of the tradition are seen as expressions of a single, non‑dual Brahman. In this way, the same corpus of Veda, Upaniṣad, Gītā, Sūtra, Itihāsa, and Purāṇa supports both the worship of multiple deities and the contemplative recognition that their ultimate ground is one and indivisible.