Hinduism

AUM, a stylised letter of Devanagari script, used as a religious symbol in Hinduism

Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents. Of the historical division into six darsanas (philosophies), two schools, Vedanta and Yoga, are currently the most prominent.[20] Classified by primary deity or deities, four major Hinduism modern currents are Vaishnavism (Vishnu), Shaivism (Shiva), Shaktism (Devi) and Smartism (five deities treated as same).[58][59] Hinduism also accepts numerous divine beings, with many Hindus considering the deities to be aspects or manifestations of a single impersonal absolute or ultimate reality or God, while some Hindus maintain that a specific deity represents the supreme and various deities are lower manifestations of this supreme.[60] Other notable characteristics include a belief in existence of ātman (soul, self), reincarnation of one's ātman, and karma as well as a belief in dharma (duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and right way of living).

McDaniel (2007) classifies Hinduism into six major kinds and numerous minor kinds, in order to understand expression of emotions among the Hindus.[61] The major kinds, according to McDaniel are, Folk Hinduism, based on local traditions and cults of local deities and is the oldest, non-literate system; Vedic Hinduism based on the earliest layers of the Vedas traceable to 2nd millennium BCE; Vedantic Hinduism based on the philosophy of the Upanishads, including Advaita Vedanta, emphasizing knowledge and wisdom; Yogic Hinduism, following the text of Yoga Sutras of Patanjali emphasizing introspective awareness; Dharmic Hinduism or "daily morality", which McDaniel states is stereotyped in some books as the "only form of Hindu religion with a belief in karma, cows and caste"; and Bhakti or devotional Hinduism, where intense emotions are elaborately incorporated in the pursuit of the spiritual.[61]

Michaels distinguishes three Hindu religions and four forms of Hindu religiosity.[62] The three Hindu religions are "Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism", "folk religions and tribal religions", and "founded religions".[63] The four forms of Hindu religiosity are the classical "karma-marga",[64] jnana-marga,[65] bhakti-marga,[65] and "heroism", which is rooted in militaristic traditions, such as Ramaism and parts of political Hinduism.[64] This is also called virya-marga.[65] According to Michaels, one out of nine Hindu belongs by birth to one or both of the Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism and Folk religion typology, whether practicing or non-practicing. He classifies most Hindus as belonging by choice to one of the "founded religions" such as Vaishnavism and Shaivism that are salvation-focussed and often de-emphasize Brahman priestly authority yet incorporate ritual grammar of Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism.[66] He includes among "founded religions" Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism that are now distinct religions, syncretic movements such as Brahmo Samaj and the Theosophical Society, as well as various "Guru-isms" and new religious movements such as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and ISKCON.[67]

Inden states that the attempt to classify Hinduism by typology started in the imperial times, when proselytizing missionaries and colonial officials sought to understand and portray Hinduism from their interests.[68] Hinduism was construed as emanating not from a reason of spirit but fantasy and creative imagination, not conceptual but symbolical, not ethical but emotive, not rational or spiritual but of cognitive mysticism. This stereotype followed and fit, states Inden, with the imperial imperatives of the era, providing the moral justification for the colonial project.[68] From tribal Animism to Buddhism, everything was subsumed as part of Hinduism. The early reports set the tradition and scholarly premises for typology of Hinduism, as well as the major assumptions and flawed presuppositions that has been at the foundation of Indology. Hinduism, according to Inden, has been neither what imperial religionists stereotyped it to be, nor is it appropriate to equate Hinduism to be merely monist pantheism and philosophical idealism of Advaita Vedanta.[68]

To its adherents, Hinduism is a traditional way of life.[69] Many practitioners refer to the "orthodox" form of Hinduism as Sanātana Dharma, "the eternal law" or the "eternal way".[70][71] Hindus regard Hinduism to be thousands of years old. The Puranic chronology, the timeline of events in ancient Indian history as narrated in the Mahabaratha, the Ramayana, and the Puranas, envisions an chronology of events related to Hinduism starting well before 3000 BCE. The Sanskrit word dharma has a much broader meaning than religion and is not its equivalent. All aspects of a Hindu life, namely acquiring wealth (artha), fulfillment of desires (kama), and attaining liberation (moksha), are part of dharma, which encapsulates the "right way of living" and eternal harmonious principles in their fulfillment.[72][73]

According to the editors of the Encyclopædia Britannica, Sanātana Dharma historically referred to the "eternal" duties religiously ordained in Hinduism, duties such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings (ahimsa), purity, goodwill, mercy, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, generosity, and asceticism. These duties applied regardless of a Hindu's class, caste, or sect, and they contrasted with svadharma, one's "own duty", in accordance with one's class or caste (varna) and stage in life (puruṣārtha).[web 4] In recent years, the term has been used by Hindu leaders, reformers, and nationalists to refer to Hinduism. Sanatana dharma has become a synonym for the "eternal" truth and teachings of Hinduism, that transcend history and are "unchanging, indivisible and ultimately nonsectarian".[web 4]

According to other scholars such as Kim Knott and Brian Hatcher, Sanātana Dharma refers to "timeless, eternal set of truths" and this is how Hindus view the origins of their religion. It is viewed as those eternal truths and tradition with origins beyond human history, truths divinely revealed (Shruti) in the Vedas – the most ancient of the world's scriptures.[74][4] To many Hindus, the Western term "religion" to the extent it means "dogma and an institution traceable to a single founder" is inappropriate for their tradition, states Hatcher. Hinduism, to them, is a tradition that can be traced at least to the ancient Vedic era.[4][75][note 15]

Some have referred to Hinduism as the Vaidika dharma.[8] The word 'Vaidika' in Sanskrit means 'derived from or conformable to the Veda' or 'relating to the Veda'.[web 3] Traditional scholars employed the terms Vaidika and Avaidika, those who accept the Vedas as a source of authoritative knowledge and those who do not, to differentiate various Indian schools from Jainism, Buddhism and Charvaka. According to Klaus Klostermaier, the term Vaidika dharma is the earliest self-designation of Hinduism.[9][10] According to Arvind Sharma, the historical evidence suggests that "the Hindus were referring to their religion by the term vaidika dharma or a variant thereof" by the 4th-century CE.[77] According to Brian K. Smith "[i]t is 'debatable at the very least' as to whether the term Vaidika Dharma cannot, with the proper concessions to historical, cultural and ideological specificity, be comparable to and translated as 'Hinduism' or 'Hindu religion'."[7]

According to Alexis Sanderson, the early Sanskrit texts differentiate between Vaidika, Vaishnava, Shaiva, Shakta, Saura, Buddhist and Jaina traditions. However, the late 1st-millennium CE Indic consensus had "indeed come to conceptualize a complex entity corresponding to Hinduism as opposed to Buddhism and Jainism excluding only certain forms of antinomian Shakta-Shaiva" from its fold.[78] Some in the Mimamsa school of Hindu philosophy considered the Agamas such as the Pancaratrika to be invalid because it did not conform to the Vedas. Some Kashmiri scholars rejected the esoteric tantric traditions to be a part of Vaidika dharma.[78][79] The Atimarga Shaivism ascetic tradition, datable to about 500 CE, challenged the Vaidika frame and insisted that their Agamas and practices were not only valid, they were superior than those of the Vaidikas.[80] However, adds Sanderson, this Shaiva ascetic tradition viewed themselves as being genuinely true to the Vedic tradition and "held unanimously that the Śruti and Smṛti of Brahmanism are universally and uniquely valid in their own sphere, [...] and that as such they [Vedas] are man's sole means of valid knowledge [...]".[80]

The term Vaidika dharma means a code of practice that is "based on the Vedas", but it is unclear what "based on the Vedas" really implies, states Julius Lipner.[75] The Vaidika dharma or "Vedic way of life", states Lipner, does not mean "Hinduism is necessarily religious" or that Hindus have a universally accepted "conventional or institutional meaning" for that term.[75] To many, it is as much a cultural term. Many Hindus do not have a copy of the Vedas nor have they ever seen or personally read parts of a Veda, like a Christian might relate to the Bible or a Muslim might to the Quran. Yet, states Lipner, "this does not mean that their [Hindus] whole life's orientation cannot be traced to the Vedas or that it does not in some way derive from it".[75]

Though many religious Hindus implicitly acknowledge the authority of the Vedas, this acknowledgment is often "no more than a declaration that someone considers himself [or herself] a Hindu,"[81][note 16] and "most Indians today pay lip service to the Veda and have no regard for the contents of the text."[82] Some Hindus challenge the authority of the Vedas, thereby implicitly acknowledging its importance to the history of Hinduism, states Lipner.[75]

Swami Vivekananda was a key figure in introducing Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and the United States,[83] raising interfaith awareness and making Hinduism a world religion.[84]

Beginning in the 19th century, Indian modernists re-asserted Hinduism as a major asset of Indian civilisation,[56] meanwhile "purifying" Hinduism from its Tantric elements[85] and elevating the Vedic elements. Western stereotypes were reversed, emphasizing the universal aspects, and introducing modern approaches of social problems.[56] This approach had a great appeal, not only in India, but also in the west.[56] Major representatives of "Hindu modernism"[86] are Raja Rammohan Roy, Vivekananda, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Mahatma Gandhi.[87]

Raja Rammohan Roy is known as the father of the Hindu Renaissance.[88] He was a major influence on Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), who, according to Flood, was "a figure of great importance in the development of a modern Hindu self-understanding and in formulating the West's view of Hinduism".[89] Central to his philosophy is the idea that the divine exists in all beings, that all human beings can achieve union with this "innate divinity",[86] and that seeing this divine as the essence of others will further love and social harmony.[86] According to Vivekananda, there is an essential unity to Hinduism, which underlies the diversity of its many forms.[86] According to Flood, Vivekananda's vision of Hinduism "is one generally accepted by most English-speaking middle-class Hindus today".[90] Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan sought to reconcile western rationalism with Hinduism, "presenting Hinduism as an essentially rationalistic and humanistic religious experience".[91]

This "Global Hinduism"[92] has a worldwide appeal, transcending national boundaries[92] and, according to Flood, "becoming a world religion alongside Christianity, Islam and Buddhism",[92] both for the Hindu diaspora communities and for westerners who are attracted to non-western cultures and religions.[92] It emphasizes universal spiritual values such as social justice, peace and "the spiritual transformation of humanity".[92] It has developed partly due to "re-enculturation",[93] or the Pizza effect,[93] in which elements of Hindu culture have been exported to the West, gaining popularity there, and as a consequence also gained greater popularity in India.[93] This globalization of Hindu culture brought "to the West teachings which have become an important cultural force in western societies, and which in turn have become an important cultural force in India, their place of origin".[94]

The definition of Hinduism in Indian Law is: "Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence; recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are diverse; and realization of the truth that the number of gods to be worshipped is large".[95][96]

The term Hinduism was coined in Western ethnography in the 18th century,[48][note 17] and refers to the fusion[note 5] or synthesis[note 6][23] of various Indian cultures and traditions,[24][note 8] with diverse roots[25][note 9] and no founder.[26] This "Hindu synthesis" emerged after the Vedic period, between ca. 500[27]–200[28] BCE and c. 300 CE,[27] in the period of the Second Urbanisation and the early classical period of Hinduism, when the Epics and the first Puranas were composed.[27][28] It flourished in the medieval period, with the decline of Buddhism in India.[29] Hinduism's tolerance to variations in belief and its broad range of traditions make it difficult to define as a religion according to traditional Western conceptions.[97]

Some academics suggest that Hinduism can be seen as a category with "fuzzy edges" rather than as a well-defined and rigid entity. Some forms of religious expression are central to Hinduism and others, while not as central, still remain within the category. Based on this idea Ferro-Luzzi has developed a 'Prototype Theory approach' to the definition of Hinduism.[98]

Ganesha is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon

Hindu beliefs are vast and diverse, and thus Hinduism is often referred to as a family of religions rather than a single religion.[99] Within each religion in this family of religions, there are different theologies, practices, and sacred texts. This diversity has led to an array of descriptions for Hinduism. It has been described as henotheism,[100] monism,[101][102] polytheism, panentheism,[103] and monotheism.[104] Hinduism does not have a "unified system of belief encoded in a declaration of faith or a creed",[36] but is rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious phenomena of India.[105] According to the Supreme Court of India,

Unlike other religions in the World, the Hindu religion does not claim any one Prophet, it does not worship any one God, it does not believe in any one philosophic concept, it does not follow any one act of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not satisfy the traditional features of a religion or creed. It is a way of life and nothing more".[106]

Part of the problem with a single definition of the term Hinduism is the fact that Hinduism does not have a founder.[107] It is a synthesis of various traditions,[108] the "Brahmanical orthopraxy, the renouncer traditions and popular or local traditions".[109]

Theism is also difficult to use as a unifying doctrine for Hinduism, because while some Hindu philosophies postulate a theistic ontology of creation, other Hindus are or have been atheists.[110]

Despite the differences, there is also a sense of unity.[111] Most Hindu traditions revere a body of religious or sacred literature, the Vedas,[112] although there are exceptions.[113] These texts are a reminder of the ancient cultural heritage and point of pride for Hindus,[114][115] with Louis Renou stating that "even in the most orthodox domains, the reverence to the Vedas has come to be a simple raising of the hat".[114][116]

Halbfass states that, although Shaivism and Vaishnavism may be regarded as "self-contained religious constellations",[111] there is a degree of interaction and reference between the "theoreticians and literary representatives"[111] of each tradition that indicates the presence of "a wider sense of identity, a sense of coherence in a shared context and of inclusion in a common framework and horizon".[111]

The notion of common denominators for several religions and traditions of India further developed from 12th century CE.[117] Lorenzen traces the emergence of a "family resemblance", and what he calls as "beginnings of medieval and modern Hinduism" taking shape, at c. 300 – 600 CE, with the development of the early Puranas, and continuities with the earlier Vedic religion.[118] Lorenzen states that the establishment of a Hindu self-identity took place "through a process of mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim Other".[119] According to Lorenzen, this "presence of the Other"[119] is necessary to recognise the "loose family resemblance" among the various traditions and schools.[120]

According to the Indologist Alexis Sanderson, before Islam arrived in India, the "Sanskrit sources differentiated Vaidika, Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva, Śākta, Saura, Buddhist, and Jaina traditions, but they had no name that denotes the first five of these as a collective entity over and against Buddhism and Jainism." This absence of a formal name, states Sanderson, does not mean that the corresponding concept of Hinduism did not exist. By late 1st-millennium CE, the concept of a belief and tradition distinct from Buddhism and Jainism had emerged.[121] This complex tradition accepted in its identity almost all of what is currently Hinduism, except certain antinomian tantric movements.[121] Some conservative thinkers of those times questioned whether certain Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakta texts or practices were consistent with the Vedas, or were invalid in their entirety. Moderates then, and most orthoprax scholars later, agreed that though there are some variations, the foundation of their beliefs, the ritual grammar, the spiritual premises and the soteriologies were same. "This sense of greater unity", states Sanderson, "came to be called Hinduism".[121]

According to Nicholson, already between the 12th and the 16th centuries "certain thinkers began to treat as a single whole the diverse philosophical teachings of the Upanishads, epics, Puranas, and the schools known retrospectively as the 'six systems' (saddarsana) of mainstream Hindu philosophy."[122] The tendency of "a blurring of philosophical distinctions" has also been noted by Burley.[123] Hacker called this "inclusivism"[112] and Michaels speaks of "the identificatory habit".[12] Lorenzen locates the origins of a distinct Hindu identity in the interaction between Muslims and Hindus,[124] and a process of "mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim other",[125][note 18] which started well before 1800.[126] Michaels notes:

As a counteraction to Islamic supremacy and as part of the continuing process of regionalization, two religious innovations developed in the Hindu religions: the formation of sects and a historicization which preceded later nationalism [...] [S]aints and sometimes militant sect leaders, such as the Marathi poet Tukaram (1609–1649) and Ramdas (1608–1681), articulated ideas in which they glorified Hinduism and the past. The Brahmins also produced increasingly historical texts, especially eulogies and chronicles of sacred sites (Mahatmyas), or developed a reflexive passion for collecting and compiling extensive collections of quotations on various subjects.[127]

This inclusivism[128] was further developed in the 19th and 20th centuries by Hindu reform movements and Neo-Vedanta,[129] and has become characteristic of modern Hinduism.[112]

The notion and reports on "Hinduism" as a "single world religious tradition"[130] was popularised by 19th-century proselytizing missionaries and European Indologists, roles sometimes served by the same person, who relied on texts preserved by Brahmins (priests) for their information of Indian religions, and animist observations that the missionary Orientalists presumed was Hinduism.[130][68][131] These reports influenced perceptions about Hinduism. Some scholars state that the colonial polemical reports led to fabricated stereotypes where Hinduism was mere mystic paganism devoted to the service of devils,[note 19] while other scholars state that the colonial constructions influenced the belief that the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, Manusmriti and such texts were the essence of Hindu religiosity, and in the modern association of 'Hindu doctrine' with the schools of Vedanta (in particular Advaita Vedanta) as paradigmatic example of Hinduism's mystical nature".[133][note 20] Pennington, while concurring that the study of Hinduism as a world religion began in the colonial era, disagrees that Hinduism is a colonial European era invention.[140] He states that the shared theology, common ritual grammar and way of life of those who identify themselves as Hindus is traceable to ancient times.[140][note 21]

Classical Hindu thought accepts four proper goals or aims of human life: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. These are known as the Puruṣārthas:[14][15]

Dharma is considered the foremost goal of a human being in Hinduism.[147] The concept Dharma includes behaviors that are considered to be in accord with rta, the order that makes life and universe possible,[148] and includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and "right way of living".[149] Hindu Dharma includes the religious duties, moral rights and duties of each individual, as well as behaviors that enable social order, right conduct, and those that are virtuous.[149] Dharma, according to Van Buitenen,[150] is that which all existing beings must accept and respect to sustain harmony and order in the world. It is, states Van Buitenen, the pursuit and execution of one's nature and true calling, thus playing one's role in cosmic concert.[150] The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states it as:

Nothing is higher than Dharma. The weak overcomes the stronger by Dharma, as over a king. Truly that Dharma is the Truth (Satya); Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, "He speaks the Dharma"; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, "He speaks the Truth!" For both are one.

— Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.4.xiv[151][152]

In the Mahabharata, Krishna defines dharma as upholding both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs. (Mbh 12.110.11). The word Sanātana means eternal, perennial, or forever; thus, Sanātana Dharma signifies that it is the dharma that has neither beginning nor end.[153]

Artha is objective and virtuous pursuit of wealth for livelihood, obligations and economic prosperity. It is inclusive of political life, diplomacy and material well-being. The Artha concept includes all "means of life", activities and resources that enables one to be in a state one wants to be in, wealth, career and financial security.[154] The proper pursuit of artha is considered an important aim of human life in Hinduism.[155][156]

Kāma (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: काम) means desire, wish, passion, longing, pleasure of the senses, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations.[157][158] In Hinduism, Kama is considered an essential and healthy goal of human life when pursued without sacrificing Dharma, Artha and Moksha.[159]

Moksha (Sanskrit: मोक्ष mokṣa) or mukti (Sanskrit: मुक्ति) is the ultimate, most important goal in Hinduism. In one sense, Moksha is a concept associated with liberation from sorrow, suffering and saṃsāra (birth-rebirth cycle). A release from this eschatological cycle, in after life, particularly in theistic schools of Hinduism is called moksha.[160][150] In other schools of Hinduism, such as monistic, moksha is a goal achievable in current life, as a state of bliss through self-realization, of comprehending the nature of one's soul, of freedom and of "realizing the whole universe as the Self".[161][162]

Karma translates literally as action, work, or deed,[163] and also refers to a Vedic theory of "moral law of cause and effect".[164][165] The theory is a combination of (1) causality that may be ethical or non-ethical; (2) ethicization, that is good or bad actions have consequences; and (3) rebirth.[166] Karma theory is interpreted as explaining the present circumstances of an individual with reference to his or her actions in the past. These actions and their consequences may be in a person's current life, or, according to some schools of Hinduism, in past lives.[166][167] This cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth is called samsara. Liberation from samsara through moksha is believed to ensure lasting happiness and peace.[168][169] Hindu scriptures teach that the future is both a function of current human effort derived from free will and past human actions that set the circumstances.[170]

The ultimate goal of life, referred to as moksha, nirvana or samadhi, is understood in several different ways: as the realization of one's union with God; as the realization of one's eternal relationship with God; realization of the unity of all existence; perfect unselfishness and knowledge of the Self; as the attainment of perfect mental peace; and as detachment from worldly desires. Such realization liberates one from samsara, thereby ending the cycle of rebirth, sorrow and suffering.[171][172] Due to belief in the indestructibility of the soul,[173] death is deemed insignificant with respect to the cosmic self.[174]

The meaning of moksha differs among the various Hindu schools of thought. For example, Advaita Vedanta holds that after attaining moksha a person knows their "soul, self" and identifies it as one with Brahman and everyone in all respects.[175][176] The followers of Dvaita (dualistic) schools, in moksha state, identify individual "soul, self" as distinct from Brahman but infinitesimally close, and after attaining moksha expect to spend eternity in a loka (heaven). To theistic schools of Hinduism, moksha is liberation from samsara, while for other schools such as the monistic school, moksha is possible in current life and is a psychological concept. According to Deutsche, moksha is transcendental consciousness to the latter, the perfect state of being, of self-realization, of freedom and of "realizing the whole universe as the Self".[161][175] Moksha in these schools of Hinduism, suggests Klaus Klostermaier,[176] implies a setting free of hitherto fettered faculties, a removing of obstacles to an unrestricted life, permitting a person to be more truly a person in the full sense; the concept presumes an unused human potential of creativity, compassion and understanding which had been blocked and shut out. Moksha is more than liberation from life-rebirth cycle of suffering (samsara); Vedantic school separates this into two: jivanmukti (liberation in this life) and videhamukti (liberation after death).[177][178]

Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, and atheism among others;[179][180][web 5] and its concept of God is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and philosophy followed. It is sometimes referred to as henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an overgeneralization.[181]

Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.
Who then knows whence it has arisen?

— Nasadiya Sukta, concerns the origin of the universe, Rig Veda, 10:129–6[182][183][184]

The Nasadiya Sukta (Creation Hymn) of the Rig Veda is one of the earliest texts[185] which "demonstrates a sense of metaphysical speculation" about what created the universe, the concept of god(s) and The One, and whether even The One knows how the universe came into being.[186][187] The Rig Veda praises various deities, none superior nor inferior, in a henotheistic manner.[188] The hymns repeatedly refer to One Truth and Reality. The "One Truth" of Vedic literature, in modern era scholarship, has been interpreted as monotheism, monism, as well as a deified Hidden Principles behind the great happenings and processes of nature.[189]

Gods and Goddesses in Hinduism

Shiva

Durga

Lakshmi

Vishnu

Hindus believe that all living creatures have a soul. This soul – the spirit or true "self" of every person, is called the ātman. The soul is believed to be eternal.[190] According to the monistic/pantheistic (non-dualist) theologies of Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is indistinct from Brahman, the supreme spirit.[191] The goal of life, according to the Advaita school, is to realise that one's soul is identical to supreme soul, that the supreme soul is present in everything and everyone, all life is interconnected and there is oneness in all life.[192][193][194] Dualistic schools (see Dvaita and Bhakti) understand Brahman as a Supreme Being separate from individual souls.[195] They worship the Supreme Being variously as Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, or Shakti, depending upon the sect. God is called Ishvara, Bhagavan, Parameshwara, Deva or Devi, and these terms have different meanings in different schools of Hinduism.[196][197][198]

Hindu texts accept a polytheistic framework, but this is generally conceptualized as the divine essence or luminosity that gives vitality and animation to the inanimate natural substances.[199] There is a divine in everything, human beings, animals, trees and rivers. It is observable in offerings to rivers, trees, tools of one's work, animals and birds, rising sun, friends and guests, teachers and parents.[199][200][201] It is the divine in these that makes each sacred and worthy of reverence. This seeing divinity in everything, state Buttimer and Wallin, makes the Vedic foundations of Hinduism quite distinct from Animism.[199] The animistic premise sees multiplicity, power differences and competition between man and man, man and animal, as well as man and nature. The Vedic view does not see this competition, rather sees a unifying divinity that connects everyone and everything.[199][202][203]

The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial entities called Devas (or devī in feminine form; devatā used synonymously for Deva in Hindi), which may be translated into English as gods or heavenly beings.[note 22] The devas are an integral part of Hindu culture and are depicted in art, architecture and through icons, and stories about them are related in the scriptures, particularly in Indian epic poetry and the Puranas. They are, however, often distinguished from Ishvara, a personal god, with many Hindus worshipping Ishvara in one of its particular manifestations as their iṣṭa devatā, or chosen ideal.[204][205] The choice is a matter of individual preference,[206] and of regional and family traditions.[206][note 23] The multitude of Devas are considered as manifestations of Brahman.[note 24]

The word avatar does not appear in the Vedic literature,[208] but appears in verb forms in post-Vedic literature, and as a noun particularly in the Puranic literature after the 6th century CE.[209] Theologically, the reincarnation idea is most often associated with the avatars of Hindu god Vishnu, though the idea has been applied to other deities.[210] Varying lists of avatars of Vishnu appear in Hindu scriptures, including the ten Dashavatara of the Garuda Purana and the twenty-two avatars in the Bhagavata Purana, though the latter adds that the incarnations of Vishnu are innumerable.[211] The avatars of Vishnu are important in Vaishnavism theology. In the goddess-based Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, avatars of the Devi are found and all goddesses are considered to be different aspects of the same metaphysical Brahman[212] and Shakti (energy).[213][214] While avatars of other deities such as Ganesha and Shiva are also mentioned in medieval Hindu texts, this is minor and occasional.[215]

Both theistic and atheistic ideas, for epistemological and metaphysical reasons, are profuse in different schools of Hinduism. The early Nyaya school of Hinduism, for example, was non-theist/atheist,[216] but later Nyaya school scholars argued that God exists and offered proofs using its theory of logic.[217][218] Other schools disagreed with Nyaya scholars. Samkhya,[219] Mimamsa[220][note 25] and Carvaka schools of Hinduism, were non-theist/atheist, arguing that "God was an unnecessary metaphysical assumption".[221][web 6][222] Its Vaisheshika school started as another non-theistic tradition relying on naturalism and that all matter is eternal, but it later introduced the concept of a non-creator God.[223][224] The Yoga school of Hinduism accepted the concept of a "personal god" and left it to the Hindu to define his or her god.[225] Advaita Vedanta taught a monistic, abstract Self and Oneness in everything, with no room for gods or deity, a perspective that Mohanty calls, "spiritual, not religious".[226] Bhakti sub-schools of Vedanta taught a creator God that is distinct from each human being.[195]

According to Graham Schweig, Hinduism has the strongest presence of the divine feminine in world religion from ancient times to the present.[227] The goddess is viewed as the heart of the most esoteric Saiva traditions.[228]

Authority and eternal truths play an important role in Hinduism.[229] Religious traditions and truths are believed to be contained in its sacred texts, which are accessed and taught by sages, gurus, saints or avatars.[229] But there is also a strong tradition of the questioning of authority, internal debate and challenging of religious texts in Hinduism. The Hindus believe that this deepens the understanding of the eternal truths and further develops the tradition. Authority "was mediated through [...] an intellectual culture that tended to develop ideas collaboratively, and according to the shared logic of natural reason."[229] Narratives in the Upanishads present characters questioning persons of authority.[229] The Kena Upanishad repeatedly asks kena, 'by what' power something is the case.[229] The Katha Upanishad and Bhagavad Gita present narratives where the student criticizes the teacher's inferior answers.[229] In the Shiva Purana, Shiva questions Vishnu and Brahma.[229] Doubt plays a repeated role in the Mahabharata.[229] Jayadeva's Gita Govinda presents criticism via the character of Radha.[229]

A wedding is the most extensive personal ritual an adult Hindu undertakes in his or her life. A typical Hindu wedding is solemnized before Vedic fire ritual (shown).[286]

Most Hindus observe religious rituals at home.[287] The rituals vary greatly among regions, villages, and individuals. They are not mandatory in Hinduism. The nature and place of rituals is an individual's choice. Some devout Hindus perform daily rituals such as worshiping at dawn after bathing (usually at a family shrine, and typically includes lighting a lamp and offering foodstuffs before the images of deities), recitation from religious scripts, singing devotional hymns, yoga, meditation, chanting mantras and others.[288]

Vedic rituals of fire-oblation (yajna) and chanting of Vedic hymns are observed on special occasions, such as a Hindu wedding.[289] Other major life-stage events, such as rituals after death, include the yajña and chanting of Vedic mantras.[web 7]

The words of the mantras are "themselves sacred,"[290] and "do not constitute linguistic utterances."[291] Instead, as Klostermaier notes, in their application in Vedic rituals they become magical sounds, "means to an end."[note 27] In the Brahmanical perspective, the sounds have their own meaning, mantras are considered as "primordial rhythms of creation", preceding the forms to which they refer.[291] By reciting them the cosmos is regenerated, "by enlivening and nourishing the forms of creation at their base. As long as the purity of the sounds is preserved, the recitation of the mantras will be efficacious, irrespective of whether their discursive meaning is understood by human beings."[291][note 25]

Major life stage milestones are celebrated as sanskara (saṃskāra, rites of passage) in Hinduism.[292][293] The rites of passage are not mandatory, and vary in details by gender, community and regionally.[294] Gautama Dharmasutras composed in about the middle of 1st millennium BCE lists 48 sanskaras,[295] while Gryhasutra and other texts composed centuries later list between 12 and 16 sanskaras.[292][296] The list of sanskaras in Hinduism include both external rituals such as those marking a baby's birth and a baby's name giving ceremony, as well as inner rites of resolutions and ethics such as compassion towards all living beings and positive attitude.[295] The major traditional rites of passage in Hinduism include[294] Garbhadhana (pregnancy), Pumsavana (rite before the fetus begins moving and kicking in womb), Simantonnayana (parting of pregnant woman's hair, baby shower), Jatakarman (rite celebrating the new born baby), Namakarana (naming the child), Nishkramana (baby's first outing from home into the world), Annaprashana (baby's first feeding of solid food), Chudakarana (baby's first haircut, tonsure), Karnavedha (ear piercing), Vidyarambha (baby's start with knowledge), Upanayana (entry into a school rite),[297][298] Keshanta and Ritusuddhi (first shave for boys, menarche for girls), Samavartana (graduation ceremony), Vivaha (wedding), Vratas (fasting, spiritual studies) and Antyeshti (cremation for an adult, burial for a child).[299] In contemporary times, there is regional variation among Hindus as to which of these sanskaras are observed; in some cases, additional regional rites of passage such as Śrāddha (ritual of feeding people after cremation) are practiced.[294][web 8]

A home shrine with offerings at a regional Vishu festival (left); a priest in a temple (right).

Bhakti refers to devotion, participation in and the love of a personal god or a representational god by a devotee.[web 9][300] Bhakti marga is considered in Hinduism as one of many possible paths of spirituality and alternative means to moksha.[301] The other paths, left to the choice of a Hindu, are Jnana marga (path of knowledge), Karma marga (path of works), Rāja marga (path of contemplation and meditation).[302][303]

Bhakti is practiced in a number of ways, ranging from reciting mantras, japas (incantations), to individual private prayers within one's home shrine,[304] or in a temple or near a river bank, sometimes in the presence of an idol or image of a deity.[305][306] Hindu temples and domestic altars, states Lynn Foulston, are important elements of worship in contemporary theistic Hinduism.[307] While many visit a temple on a special occasion, most offer a brief prayer on an everyday basis at the domestic altar.[307] This bhakti is expressed in a domestic shrine which typically is a dedicated part of the home and includes the images of deities or the gurus the Hindu chooses.[307] Among Vaishnavism sub-traditions such as Swaminarayan, the home shrines can be elaborate with either a room dedicated to it or a dedicated part of the kitchen. The devotee uses this space for daily prayers or meditation, either before breakfast or after day's work.[308][309]

Bhakti is sometimes private inside household shrines and sometimes practiced as a community. It may include Puja, Aarti,[310] musical Kirtan or singing Bhajan, where devotional verses and hymns are read or poems are sung by a group of devotees.[web 10][311] While the choice of the deity is at the discretion of the Hindu, the most observed traditions of Hindu devotionalism include Vaishnavism (Vishnu), Shaivism (Shiva) and Shaktism (Shakti).[312] A Hindu may worship multiple deities, all as henotheistic manifestations of the same ultimate reality, cosmic spirit and absolute spiritual concept called Brahman in Hinduism.[313][314][note 24] Bhakti marga, states Pechelis, is more than ritual devotionalism, it includes practices and spiritual activities aimed at refining one's state of mind, knowing god, participating in god, and internalizing god.[315][316] While Bhakti practices are popular and easily observable aspect of Hinduism, not all Hindus practice Bhakti, or believe in god-with-attributes (saguna Brahman).[317][318] Concurrent Hindu practices include a belief in god-without-attributes, and god within oneself.[319][320]

The festival of lights, Diwali, is celebrated by Hindus all over the world. It is referred as Dipavali in the South India.

Holika Dahan 2020

Hindu festivals (Sanskrit: Utsava; literally: "to lift higher") are ceremonies that weave individual and social life to dharma.[321][322] Hinduism has many festivals throughout the year, where the dates are set by the lunisolar Hindu calendar, many coinciding with either the full moon (Holi) or the new moon (Diwali), often with seasonal changes.[323] Some festivals are found only regionally and they celebrate local traditions, while a few such as Holi and Diwali are pan-Hindu.[323][324] The festivals typically celebrate events from Hinduism, connoting spiritual themes and celebrating aspects of human relationships such as the Sister-Brother bond over the Raksha Bandhan (or Bhai Dooj) festival.[322][325] The same festival sometimes marks different stories depending on the Hindu denomination, and the celebrations incorporate regional themes, traditional agriculture, local arts, family get togethers, Puja rituals and feasts.[321][326]

Some major regional or pan-Hindu festivals include:

Many adherents undertake pilgrimages, which have historically been an important part of Hinduism and remain so today.[327] Pilgrimage sites are called Tirtha, Kshetra, Gopitha or Mahalaya.[328][329] The process or journey associated with Tirtha is called Tirtha-yatra.[330] According to the Hindu text Skanda Purana, Tirtha are of three kinds: Jangam Tirtha is to a place movable of a sadhu, a rishi, a guru; Sthawar Tirtha is to a place immovable, like Benaras, Haridwar, Mount Kailash, holy rivers; while Manas Tirtha is to a place of mind of truth, charity, patience, compassion, soft speech, soul.[331][332] Tīrtha-yatra is, states Knut A. Jacobsen, anything that has a salvific value to a Hindu, and includes pilgrimage sites such as mountains or forests or seashore or rivers or ponds, as well as virtues, actions, studies or state of mind.[333][334]

Pilgrimage sites of Hinduism are mentioned in the epic Mahabharata and the Puranas.[335][336] Most Puranas include large sections on Tirtha Mahatmya along with tourist guides,[337] which describe sacred sites and places to visit.[338][339][340] In these texts, Varanasi (Benares, Kashi), Rameshwaram, Kanchipuram, Dwarka, Puri, Haridwar, Sri Rangam, Vrindavan, Ayodhya, Tirupati, Mayapur, Nathdwara, twelve Jyotirlinga and Shakti Peetha have been mentioned as particularly holy sites, along with geographies where major rivers meet (sangam) or join the sea.[341][336] Kumbhamela is another major pilgrimage on the eve of the solar festival Makar Sankranti. This pilgrimage rotates at a gap of three years among four sites: Prayag Raj at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, Haridwar near source of the Ganges, Ujjain on the Shipra river and Nasik on the bank of the Godavari river.[342] This is one of world's largest mass pilgrimage, with an estimated 40 to 100 million people attending the event.[342][343][web 11] At this event, they say a prayer to the sun and bathe in the river,[342] a tradition attributed to Adi Shankara.[344]

Some pilgrimages are part of a Vrata (vow), which a Hindu may make for a number of reasons.[345][346] It may mark a special occasion, such as the birth of a baby, or as part of a rite of passage such as a baby's first haircut, or after healing from a sickness.[347][348] It may, states Eck, also be the result of prayers answered.[347] An alternative reason for Tirtha, for some Hindus, is to respect wishes or in memory of a beloved person after his or her death.[347] This may include dispersing their cremation ashes in a Tirtha region in a stream, river or sea to honor the wishes of the dead. The journey to a Tirtha, assert some Hindu texts, helps one overcome the sorrow of the loss.[347][note 28]

Other reasons for a Tirtha in Hinduism is to rejuvenate or gain spiritual merit by traveling to famed temples or bathe in rivers such as the Ganges.[351][352][353] Tirtha has been one of the recommended means of addressing remorse and to perform penance, for unintentional errors and intentional sins, in the Hindu tradition.[354][355] The proper procedure for a pilgrimage is widely discussed in Hindu texts.[356] The most accepted view is that the greatest austerity comes from traveling on foot, or part of the journey is on foot, and that the use of a conveyance is only acceptable if the pilgrimage is otherwise impossible.[357]

Priests performing Kalyanam (marriage) of the holy deities at Bhadrachalam Temple, in Telangana. It is one of the temples in India, where Kalyanam is done everyday throughout the year.

Hindu society has been categorised into four classes, called varnas. They are the Brahmins: Vedic teachers and priests; the Kshatriyas: warriors and kings; the Vaishyas: farmers and merchants; and the Shudras: servants and labourers.[358] The Bhagavad Gītā links the varna to an individual's duty (svadharma), inborn nature (svabhāva), and natural tendencies (guṇa).[359] The Manusmṛiti categorises the different castes.[web 12] Some mobility and flexibility within the varnas challenge allegations of social discrimination in the caste system, as has been pointed out by several sociologists,[360][361] although some other scholars disagree.[362] Scholars debate whether the so-called caste system is part of Hinduism sanctioned by the scriptures or social custom.[363][web 13][note 29] And various contemporary scholars have argued that the caste system was constructed by the British colonial regime.[364] A renunciant man of knowledge is usually called Varnatita or "beyond all varnas" in Vedantic works. The bhiksu is advised to not bother about the caste of the family from which he begs his food. Scholars like Adi Sankara affirm that not only is Brahman beyond all varnas, the man who is identified with Him also transcends the distinctions and limitations of caste.[365]

A statue of Shiva in yogic meditation

In whatever way a Hindu defines the goal of life, there are several methods (yogas) that sages have taught for reaching that goal. Yoga is a Hindu discipline which trains the body, mind and consciousness for health, tranquility and spiritual insight. This is done through a system of postures and exercises to practise control of the body and mind.[366] Texts dedicated to Yoga include the Yoga Sutras, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Bhagavad Gita and, as their philosophical and historical basis, the Upanishads. Yoga is means, and the four major marga (paths) discussed in Hinduism are: Bhakti Yoga (the path of love and devotion), Karma Yoga (the path of right action), Rāja Yoga (the path of meditation), Jñāna Yoga (the path of wisdom)[367] An individual may prefer one or some yogas over others, according to his or her inclination and understanding. Practice of one yoga does not exclude others.

Basic Hindu symbols: Shatkona, Padma, and Swastika.

The Hindu deity Ganesha is sometimes linked to the symbol Om.[368]

Hinduism has a developed system of symbolism and iconography to represent the sacred in art, architecture, literature and worship. These symbols gain their meaning from the scriptures or cultural traditions. The syllable Om (which represents the Brahman and Atman) has grown to represent Hinduism itself, while other markings such as the Swastika sign represent auspiciousness,[369] and Tilaka (literally, seed) on forehead – considered to be the location of spiritual third eye,[370] marks ceremonious welcome, blessing or one's participation in a ritual or rite of passage.[371] Elaborate Tilaka with lines may also identify a devotee of a particular denomination. Flowers, birds, animals, instruments, symmetric mandala drawings, objects, idols are all part of symbolic iconography in Hinduism.[372][373]

Hindus advocate the practice of ahiṃsā (nonviolence) and respect for all life because divinity is believed to permeate all beings, including plants and non-human animals.[374] The term ahiṃsā appears in the Upanishads,[375] the epic Mahabharata[376] and ahiṃsā is the first of the five Yamas (vows of self-restraint) in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.[377]

A goshala or cow shelter at Guntur

In accordance with ahiṃsā, many Hindus embrace vegetarianism to respect higher forms of life. Estimates of strict lacto vegetarians in India (includes adherents of all religions) who never eat any meat, fish or eggs vary between 20% and 42%, while others are either less strict vegetarians or non-vegetarians.[378] Those who eat meat seek Jhatka (quick death) method of meat production, and dislike Halal (slow bled death) method, believing that quick death method reduces suffering to the animal.[379][380] The food habits vary with region, with Bengali Hindus and Hindus living in Himalayan regions, or river delta regions, regularly eating meat and fish.[381] Some avoid meat on specific festivals or occasions.[382] Observant Hindus who do eat meat almost always abstain from beef. The cow in Hindu society is traditionally identified as a caretaker and a maternal figure,[383] and Hindu society honours the cow as a symbol of unselfish giving.[384] There are many Hindu groups that have continued to abide by a strict vegetarian diet in modern times. Some adhere to a diet that is devoid of meat, eggs, and seafood.[385] Food affects body, mind and spirit in Hindu beliefs.[386][387] Hindu texts such as Śāṇḍilya Upanishad[388] and Svātmārāma[389][390] recommend Mitahara (eating in moderation) as one of the Yamas (virtuous self restraints). The Bhagavad Gita links body and mind to food one consumes in verses 17.8 through 17.10.[391]

Some Hindus such as those belonging to the Shaktism tradition,[392] and Hindus in regions such as Bali and Nepal[393][394] practise animal sacrifice.[393] The sacrificed animal is eaten as ritual food.[395] In contrast, the Vaishnava Hindus abhor and vigorously oppose animal sacrifice.[396][397] The principle of non-violence to animals has been so thoroughly adopted in Hinduism that animal sacrifice is uncommon[398] and historically reduced to a vestigial marginal practice.[399]

A Hindu temple is a house of god(s).[400] It is a space and structure designed to bring human beings and gods together, infused with symbolism to express the ideas and beliefs of Hinduism.[401] A temple incorporates all elements of Hindu cosmology, the highest spire or dome representing Mount Meru – reminder of the abode of Brahma and the center of spiritual universe,[402] the carvings and iconography symbolically presenting dharma, kama, artha, moksha and karma.[403][404] The layout, the motifs, the plan and the building process recite ancient rituals, geometric symbolisms, and reflect beliefs and values innate within various schools of Hinduism.[401] Hindu temples are spiritual destinations for many Hindus (not all), as well as landmarks for arts, annual festivals, rite of passage rituals, and community celebrations.[405][406]

Illustration of Hindu temples in Asia

Hindu temples come in many styles, diverse locations, deploy different construction methods and are adapted to different deities and regional beliefs.[407] Two major styles of Hindu temples include the Gopuram style found in south India, and Nagara style found in north India.[408][409] Other styles include cave, forest and mountain temples.[410] Yet, despite their differences, almost all Hindu temples share certain common architectural principles, core ideas, symbolism and themes.[401] Many temples feature one or more idols (murtis). The idol and Grabhgriya in the Brahma-pada (the center of the temple), under the main spire, serves as a focal point (darsana, a sight) in a Hindu temple.[411] In larger temples, the central space typically is surrounded by an ambulatory for the devotee to walk around and ritually circumambulate the Purusa (Brahman), the universal essence.[401]

Traditionally the life of a Hindu is divided into four Āśramas (phases or life stages; another meaning includes monastery).[412] The four ashramas are: Brahmacharya (student), Grihastha (householder), Vanaprastha (retired) and Sannyasa (renunciation).[413] Brahmacharya represents the bachelor student stage of life. Grihastha refers to the individual's married life, with the duties of maintaining a household, raising a family, educating one's children, and leading a family-centred and a dharmic social life.[413] Grihastha stage starts with Hindu wedding, and has been considered as the most important of all stages in sociological context, as Hindus in this stage not only pursued a virtuous life, they produced food and wealth that sustained people in other stages of life, as well as the offsprings that continued mankind.[414] Vanaprastha is the retirement stage, where a person hands over household responsibilities to the next generation, took an advisory role, and gradually withdrew from the world.[415][416] The Sannyasa stage marks renunciation and a state of disinterest and detachment from material life, generally without any meaningful property or home (ascetic state), and focused on Moksha, peace and simple spiritual life.[417][418] The Ashramas system has been one facet of the Dharma concept in Hinduism.[414] Combined with four proper goals of human life (Purusartha), the Ashramas system traditionally aimed at providing a Hindu with fulfilling life and spiritual liberation.[414] While these stages are typically sequential, any person can enter Sannyasa (ascetic) stage and become an Ascetic at any time after the Brahmacharya stage.[419] Sannyasa is not religiously mandatory in Hinduism, and elderly people are free to live with their families.[420]

A sadhu in Madurai, India

Some Hindus choose to live a monastic life (Sannyāsa) in pursuit of liberation (moksha) or another form of spiritual perfection.[18] Monastics commit themselves to a simple and celibate life, detached from material pursuits, of meditation and spiritual contemplation.[421] A Hindu monk is called a Sanyāsī, Sādhu, or Swāmi. A female renunciate is called a Sanyāsini. Renunciates receive high respect in Hindu society because of their simple ahimsa-driven lifestyle and dedication to spiritual liberation (moksha) – believed to be the ultimate goal of life in Hinduism.[418] Some monastics live in monasteries, while others wander from place to place, depending on donated food and charity for their needs.[422]

Outline of South Asian history
Palaeolithic (2,500,000–250,000 BC) Madrasian Culture Soanian Culture
Neolithic (10,800–3300 BC) Bhirrana Culture (7570–6200 BC) Mehrgarh Culture (7000–3300 BC) Edakkal Culture (5000–3000 BC)
Chalcolithic (3500–1500 BC) Anarta tradition (c. 3950–1900 BC) Ahar-Banas Culture (3000–1500 BC) Pandu Culture (1600–1500 BC) Malwa Culture (1600–1300 BC) Jorwe Culture (1400–700 BC)
Bronze Age (3300–1300 BC) Indus Valley Civilisation (3300–1300 BC)  – Early Harappan Culture (3300–2600 BC)  – Mature Harappan Culture (2600–1900 BC)  – Late Harappan Culture (1900–1300 BC) Vedic Civilisation (2000–500 BC)  – Ochre Coloured Pottery culture (2000–1600 BC)  – Swat culture (1600–500 BC)
Iron Age (1500–200 BC) Vedic Civilisation (1500–500 BC)  – Janapadas (1500–600 BC)  – Black and Red ware culture (1300–1000 BC)  – Painted Grey Ware culture (1200–600 BC)  – Northern Black Polished Ware (700–200 BC) Pradyota Dynasty (799–684 BC) Haryanka Dynasty (684–424 BC) Three Crowned Kingdoms (c. 600 BC – AD 1600) Maha Janapadas (c. 600–300 BC) Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) Ror Dynasty (450 BC – AD 489) Shaishunaga Dynasty (424–345 BC) Nanda Empire (380–321 BC) Macedonian Empire (330–323 BC) Maurya Empire (321–184 BC) Seleucid India (312–303 BC) Pandya Empire (c. 300 BC – AD 1345) Chera Kingdom (c. 300 BC – AD 1102) Chola Empire (c. 300 BC – AD 1279) Pallava Empire (c. 250 BC – AD 800) Maha-Megha-Vahana Empire (c. 250 BC – c. AD 500) Parthian Empire (247 BC – AD 224)
Middle Kingdoms (230 BC – AD 1206) Satavahana Empire (230 BC – AD 220) Kuninda Kingdom (200 BC – AD 300) Mitra Dynasty (c. 150 – c. 50 BC) Shunga Empire (185–73 BC) Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC – AD 10) Kanva Empire (75–26 BC) Indo-Scythian Kingdom (50 BC – AD 400) Indo-Parthian Kingdom (AD 21 – c. 130) Western Satrap Empire (AD 35–405 ) Kushan Empire (AD 60–240) Bharshiva Dynasty (170–350) Nagas of Padmavati (210–340) Sasanian Empire (224–651) Indo-Sassanid Kingdom (230–360) Vakataka Empire (c. 250 – c. 500) Kalabhras Empire (c. 250 – c. 600) Gupta Empire (280–550) Kadamba Empire (345–525) Western Ganga Kingdom (350–1000) Kamarupa Kingdom (350–1100) Vishnukundina Empire (420–624) Maitraka Empire (475–767) Huna Kingdom (475–576) Rai Kingdom (489–632) Kabul Shahi Empire (c. 500 – 1026) Chalukya Empire (543–753) Maukhari Empire (c. 550 – c. 700) Harsha Empire (606–647) Tibetan Empire (618–841) Eastern Chalukya Kingdom (624–1075) Rashidun Caliphate (632–661) Gurjara-Pratihara Empire (650–1036) Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) Pala Empire (750–1174) Rashtrakuta Empire (753–982) Paramara Kingdom (800–1327) Yadava Empire (850–1334) Chaulukya Kingdom (942–1244) Western Chalukya Empire (973–1189) Lohara Kingdom (1003–1320) Hoysala Empire (1040–1347) Sena Empire (1070–1230) Eastern Ganga Empire (1078–1434) Kakatiya Kingdom (1083–1323) Zamorin Kingdom (1102–1766) Kalachuris of Tripuri (675-1210) Kalachuris of Kalyani (1156–1184) Chutiya Kingdom (1187–1673) Deva Kingdom (c. 1200 – c. 1300)
Late medieval period (1206–1526) Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526)  – Mamluk Sultanate (1206–1290)  – Khalji Sultanate (1290–1320)  – Tughlaq Sultanate (1320–1414)  – Sayyid Sultanate (1414–1451)  – Lodi Sultanate (1451–1526) Ahom Kingdom (1228–1826) Chitradurga Kingdom (1300–1779) Reddy Kingdom (1325–1448) Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1646) Bengal Sultanate (1352–1576) Garhwal Kingdom (1358–1803) Mysore Kingdom (1399–1947) Gajapati Kingdom (1434–1541) Deccan Sultanates (1490–1596)  – Ahmadnagar Sultanate (1490–1636)  – Berar Sultanate (1490–1574)  – Bidar Sultanate (1492–1619)  – Bijapur Sultanate (1492–1686)  – Golkonda Sultanate (1518–1687) Keladi Kingdom (1499–1763) Koch Kingdom (1515–1947)
Early modern period (1526–1858) Mughal Empire (1526–1858) Sur Empire (1540–1556) Madurai Kingdom (1559–1736) Thanjavur Kingdom (1532–1673) Bengal Subah (1576–1757) Marava Kingdom (1600–1750) Thondaiman Kingdom (1650–1948) Maratha Empire (1674–1818) Sikh Confederacy (1707–1799) Travancore Kingdom (1729–1947) Sikh Empire (1799–1849)
Colonial states (1510–1961) Portuguese India (1510–1961) Dutch India (1605–1825) Danish India (1620–1869) French India (1759–1954) Company Raj (1757–1858) British Raj (1858–1947)
Periods of Sri Lanka Prehistory (Until 543 BC) Early kingdoms period (543 BC – 377 BC) Anuradhapura period (377 BC – AD 1017) Polonnaruwa period (1056–1232) Transitional period (1232–1505) Crisis of the Sixteenth Century (1505–1594) Kandyan period (1594–1815) British Ceylon (1815–1948) Contemporary Sri Lanka (1948–present)
National histories Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
Regional histories Assam Balochistan Bengal Bihar Gujarat Himachal Pradesh Kabul Kashmir Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rajasthan Maharashtra Uttar Pradesh Punjab Odisha Sindh South India Sylhet Tamil Nadu Tibet
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James Mill (1773–1836), in his The History of British India (1817),[423] distinguished three phases in the history of India, namely Hindu, Muslim and British civilisations.[423][424] This periodisation has been criticised for the misconceptions it has given rise to.[425] Another periodisation is the division into "ancient, classical, medieval and modern periods".[426] An elaborate periodisation may be as follows:[12]

• Prevedic religions (pre-history and Indus Valley Civilisation; until c. 1500 BCE);
• Vedic period (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE);
• "Second Urbanisation" (c. 500 – c. 200 BCE);
• Classical Hinduism (c. 200 BCE – c. 1100 CE);[note 30] Jainism and Buddhism. For Smart, the "classical period" lasts from 100 to 1000 CE, and coincides with the flowering of "classical Hinduism" and the flowering and deterioration of Mahayana-buddhism in India.[427]
• For Michaels, the period between 500 BCE and 200 BCE is a time of "Ascetic reformism",[428] whereas the period between 200 BCE and 1100 CE is the time of "classical Hinduism", since there is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions".[429]
• Muesse discerns a longer period of change, namely between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, which he calls the "Classical Period". According to Muesse, some of the fundamental concepts of Hinduism, namely karma, reincarnation and "personal enlightenment and transformation", which did not exist in the Vedic religion, developed in this time.[430]</ref>

• Pre-classical Hinduism (c. 200 BCE – c. 300 CE);
• "Golden Age" (Gupta Empire) (c. 320 – c. 650 CE);
• Late-Classical Hinduism – Puranic Hinduism (c. 650 – c. 1100 CE);

• Islam and sects of Hinduism (c. 1200 – c. 1700 CE);
• Modern Hinduism (from c. 1800).

Hinduism is a fusion[431][note 5] or synthesis[27][note 6] of various Indian cultures and traditions.[27][note 8] Among the roots of Hinduism are the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India,[432] itself already the product of "a composite of the Indo-Aryan and Harappan cultures and civilizations",[433][note 31] but also the Sramana[434] or renouncer traditions[109] of northeast India,[434] and mesolithic[435] and neolithic[436] cultures of India, such as the religions of the Indus Valley Civilisation,[437] Dravidian traditions,[438] and the local traditions[109] and tribal religions.[439][note 32]

This "Hindu synthesis" emerged after the Vedic period, between 500[27]-200[28] BCE and c. 300 CE,[27] the beginning of the "Epic and Puranic" c.q. "Preclassical" period,[27][28] and incorporated śramaṇic[28][440] and Buddhist influences[28][441] and the emerging bhakti tradition into the Brahmanical fold via the Smriti literature.[442][28] From northern India this "Hindu synthesis", and its societal divisions, spread to southern India and parts of Southeast Asia, as the Brahmanical culture was adopted by courts and rulers.[443] Hinduism co-existed for several centuries with Buddhism,[444] to finally gain the upper hand at all levels in the 8th century.[445][web 15][note 33]

The Pashupati seal, Indus Valley civilization. Paśupati "Lord of all animals" was originally an epithet of the Vedic God Rudra[446] (now worshiped as Shiva).

The earliest prehistoric religion in India that may have left its traces in Hinduism comes from mesolithic as observed in the sites such as the rock paintings of Bhimbetka rock shelters dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older,[note 34] as well as neolithic times.[note 35] Some of the religious practices can be considered to have originated in 4000 BCE. Several tribal religions still exist, though their practices may not resemble those of prehistoric religions.[web 16]

According to anthropologist Possehl, the Indus Valley Civilization "provides a logical, if somewhat arbitrary, starting point for some aspects of the later Hindu tradition".[447] The religion of this period included worship of a Great male god, which is compared to a proto-Shiva, and probably a Mother Goddess, that may prefigure Shakti. However these links of deities and practices of the Indus religion to later-day Hinduism are subject to both political contention and scholarly dispute.[448]

Indo-Aryan migration and Vedic period

Scheme of Indo-European migrations from ca. 4000 to 1000 BCE according to the Kurgan hypothesis. The magenta area corresponds to the assumed Urheimat (Samara culture, Sredny Stog culture). The red area corresponds to the area which may have been settled by Indo-European-speaking peoples up to c. 2500 BCE; the orange area to 1000 BCE. (Christopher I. Beckwith (2009), Empires of the Silk Road, Oxford University Press, p. 30) Map of the approximate maximal extent of the Andronovo culture. The formative Sintashta-Petrovka culture is shown in darker red. The location of the earliest spoke-wheeled chariot finds is indicated in purple. Adjacent and overlapping cultures (Afanasevo culture, Srubna culture, BMAC) are shown in green. Archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian migrations (after EIEC). The Andronovo, BMAC and Yaz cultures have often been associated with Indo-Iranian migrations. The GGC, Cemetery H, Copper Hoard and PGW cultures are candidates for cultures associated with Indo-Aryan movements. Early Vedic Period Late Vedic Period

The Vedic period is the period when the Vedas were composed, the liturgical texts of the religion of some of the Indo-Aryans[449][note 36] as codified at the Kuru Kingdom,[451] lasted from c. 1500 to 500 BCE.[452][note 37] The Indo-Aryans were semi-nomadic pastoralists[451] who migrated into north-western India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization.[450][454][455]

The Puranic chronology, the timeline of events in ancient Indian history as narrated in the Mahabaratha, the Ramayana, and the Puranas, envisions an older chronology for the Vedic culture. In this view, the Vedas were received thousands of years ago. The Kurukshetra War, the background-scene of the Baghavad Gita, which may relate histoical events taking which took place ca. 1000 BCE at the heartland of Aryavarta,[451][456] is dated in this chronology at ca. 3100 BCE, while Gulshan (1940) dates the start of the reign of Manu Vaivasvata at 7350 BCE.[457] Some Indian writers and archaeologists have opposed the notion of a migration of Indo-Aryans into India and argued for an indigenous origin of the Indo-Aryans,[458][450][459] but though popular in India, these ideas have no support in academic mainstream scholarship.[note 38] The linguistic and religious data show clear links with Indo-European languages and religion,[460] while recent genetic research shows that people related to the Corded Ware culture arrived in India from the steppes via the Inner Asia Mountain Corridor in the second millennium BCE.[461][462][463][web 17][web 18] According to Singh, "The dominant view is that the Indo-Aryans came to the subcontinent as immigrants."[459]

During the early Vedic period (c. 1500 – c. 1100 BCE[451]) Vedic tribes were pastoralists, wandering around in north-west India.[464] After 1100 BCE the Vedic tribes moved into the western Ganges Plain, adapting an agrarian lifestyle.[451][465][466] Rudimentary state-forms appeared, of which the Kuru-Pañcāla union was the most influential.[467][468] It was a tribal union, which developed into the first recorded state-level society in South Asia around 1000 BCE.[451] This, according to Witzel, decisively changed their religious heritage of the early Vedic period, collecting their ritual hymns into the Vedic collections, and shifting ritual exchange within a tribe to social exchange within the larger Kuru realm through complicated Srauta rituals.[469] In this period, states Samuel, emerged the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of Vedic texts, which merged into the earliest Upanishads.[470] These texts began to ask the meaning of a ritual, adding increasing levels of philosophical and metaphysical speculation,[470] or "Hindu synthesis".[27]

The Indo-Aryans brought with them their language[471] and religion.[472][473] The Vedic beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era were closely related to the hypothesised Proto-Indo-European religion,[474] and the Indo-Iranian religion.[475][note 39]

The Vedic religion history is unclear and "heavily contested", states Samuel.[482] In the later Vedic period, it co-existed with local religions, such as the mother goddess worshipping Yaksha cults.[483][web 19] The Vedic was itself likely the product of "a composite of the indo-Aryan and Harappan cultures and civilizations".[433] David Gordon White cites three other mainstream scholars who "have emphatically demonstrated" that Vedic religion is partially derived from the Indus Valley Civilizations.[484][note 31] Their religion was further developed when they migrated into the Ganges Plain after c. 1100 BCE and became settled farmers,[451][486][487] further syncretising with the native cultures of northern India.[488]

The composition of the Vedic literature began in the 2nd millennium BCE.[489][490] The oldest of these Vedic texts is the Rigveda, composed between c. 1500 – 1200 BCE,[491][492][493] though a wider approximation of c. 1700 – 1100 BCE has also been given.[494][495]

The evidence suggests that the Vedic religion evolved in "two superficially contradictory directions", state Jamison and Witzel, namely an ever more "elaborate, expensive, and specialized system of rituals",[496] which survives in the present-day srauta-ritual,[497] and "abstraction and internalization of the principles underlying ritual and cosmic speculation" within oneself,[496][498] akin to the Jain and Buddhist tradition.

The first half of the 1st millennium BCE was a period of great intellectual and social-cultural ferment in ancient India.[499][500] New ideas developed both in the Vedic tradition in the form of the Upanishads, and outside of the Vedic tradition through the Śramaṇa movements.[501][502][503][note 40] For example, prior to the birth of the Buddha and the Mahavira, and related Sramana movements, the Brahmanical tradition had questioned the meaning and efficacy of Vedic rituals,[505] then internalized and variously reinterpreted the Vedic fire rituals as ethical concepts such as Truth, Rite, Tranquility or Restraint.[506] The 9th and 8th centuries BCE witnessed the composition of the earliest Upanishads with such ideas.[506][507]^:183 Other ancient Principal Upanishads were composed in the centuries that followed, forming the foundation of classical Hinduism and the Vedanta (conclusion of the Veda) literature.[508]

Brahmanism, also called Brahminism, developed out of the Vedic religion, incorporating non-Vedic religious ideas, and expanding to a region stretching from the northwest Indian subcontinent to the Ganges valley.[509] Brahmanism included the Vedic corpus, but also post-Vedic texts such as the Dharmasutras and Dharmasastras, which gave prominence to the priestly (Brahmin) class of the society.[509] The emphasis on ritual and the dominant position of Brahmans developed as an ideology developed in the Kuru-Pancala realm, and expanded into a wider realm after the demish of the Kuru-Pancala realm.[451] It co-existed with local religions, such as the Yaksha cults.[488][510][511]

Increasing urbanisation of India between 800 and 400 BCE, and possibly the spread of urban diseases, contributed to the rise of ascetic movements and of new ideas which challenged the orthodox Brahmanism.[512] These ideas led to Sramana movements, of which Mahavira (c. 549 – 477 BCE), proponent of Jainism, and Buddha (c. 563 – 483), founder of Buddhism, were the most prominent icons.[507]^:184 According to Bronkhorst, the sramana culture arose in greater Magadha, which was Indo-European, but not Vedic. In this culture, kashtriyas were placed higher than Brahmins, and it rejected Vedic authority and rituals.[513][514] Geoffrey Samuel, following Tom Hopkins, also argues that the Gangetic plain, which gave rise to Jainism and Buddhism, incorporated a culture which was different form the Brahmanical orthodoxy practiced in the Kuru-Pancala region.[515]

The ascetic tradition of Vedic period in part created the foundational theories of samsara and of moksha (liberation from samsara), which became characteristic for Hinduism, along with Buddhism and Jainism.[note 41][516]

These ascetic concepts were adopted by schools of Hinduism as well as other major Indian religions, but key differences between their premises defined their further development. Hinduism, for example, developed its ideas with the premise that every human being has a soul (atman, self), while Buddhism developed with the premise that there is no soul or self.[517][518][519] The chronology of these religious concepts is unclear, and scholars contest which religion affected the other as well as the chronological sequence of the ancient texts.[520][521] Pratt notes that Oldenberg (1854–1920), Neumann (1865–1915) and Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) believed that the Buddhist canon had been influenced by Upanishads, while la Vallee Poussin thinks the influence was nihil, and "Eliot and several others insist that on some points such as the existence of soul or self the Buddha was directly antithetical to the Upanishads".[522][note 42]

The post-Vedic period of the Second Urbanisation saw a decline of Brahmanism.[524][525] At the end of the Vedic period, the meaning of the words of the Vedas had become obscure, and was perceived as "a fixed sequence of sounds"[526][note 43] with a magical power, "means to an end."[note 44] With the growth of cities, which treatened the income and patronage of the rural Brahmins; the rise of Buddhism; and the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great (327-325 BCE), the rise of the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE), and the Saka invasions and rule of northwestern India (2nd c. BC - 4th c. CE), Brahmanism faced a grave threat to its existence.[527][528] In some later texts, Northwest-India (which earlier texts consider as part of Aryavarta) is even seen as "impure", probably due to invasions. The Karnaparva 43.5-8 states that those who live on the Sindhu and the five rivers of the Punjab are impure and dharmabahya.

From about 500 BCE through about 300 CE, the Vedic-Brahmanic synthesis or "Hindu synthesis" continued.[27] Classical Hindu and Sramanic (particularly Buddhist) ideas spread within Indian subcontinent, as well outside India such as in Central Asia,[529] and the parts of Southeast Asia (coasts of Indonesia and peninsular Thailand).[note 45][530]

The decline of Brahmanism was overcome by providing new services[531] and incorporating the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan relgious heritage of the eastern Ganges plain and local religious traditions, giving rise to contemporary Hinduism.[527] The "Hindu synthesis" or "Brahmanical synthesis"[27][28] incorporated Sramanic and Buddhist influences[28][441] into the "Brahmanical fold" via the Smriti ("remembered") literature.[442][28] According to Embree, several other religious traditions had existed side by side with the Vedic religion. These indigenous religions "eventually found a place under the broad mantle of the Vedic religion".[532] The Smriti texts of the period between 200 BCE-100 CE affirmed the authority of the Vedas. The acceptance of the ideas in the Vedas and Upanishads became a central criterium for defining Hinduism, while the heterodox movements rejected those ideas.[533]

Undavalli caves located in Andhra Pradesh.

The major Sanskrit epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, which belong to the Smriti, were compiled over a protracted period during the late centuries BCE and the early centuries CE.[442][web 20] These are legendary dialogues interspersed with philosophical treatises. The Bhagavad Gita was composed in this period and consolidated diverse philosophies and soteriological ideas.[534]

During this period, the foundational texts of several schools of Hindu philosophy were formally written down, including Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purva-Mimamsa and Vedanta.[535] The Smriti literature of Hinduism, particularly the Sutras, as well as other Hindu texts such as the Arthashastra and Sushruta Samhita were also written or expanded during this period.[442][536]

Many influential Yoga Upanishads, states Gavin Flood, were composed before the 3rd century CE.[537][538] Seven Sannyasa Upanishads of Hinduism were composed between the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE and before the 3rd century CE.[539][540] All these texts describe Hindu renunciation and monastic values, and express strongly Advaita Vedanta tradition ideas. This, state Patrick Olivelle and other scholars, is likely because the monasteries of Advaita tradition of Hinduism had become well established in ancient times.[541][542][543] The first version of Natyasastra – a Hindu text on performance arts that integrates Vedic ideology – was also completed before the 2nd century CE.[544][545]

During the Gupta period, the first stone and cave Hindu temples dedicated to Hindu deities were built, some of which have survived into the modern era.[546][note 46] Numerous monasteries and universities were also built during the Gupta dynasty era, which supported Vedic and non-Vedic studies, including the famed Nalanda.[548][549]

The first version of early Puranas, likely composed between 250 and 500 CE, show continuities with the Vedic religion, but also an expanded mythology of Vishnu, Shiva and Devi (goddess).[550] The Puranas were living texts that were revised over time,[551] and Lorenzen suggests these texts may reflect the beginnings of "medieval Hinduism".[118]

After the end of the Gupta Empire, power became decentralised in India. The disintegration of central power also led to regionalisation of religiosity, and religious rivalry.[552] Rural and devotional movements arose within Hinduism, along with Shaivism, Vaisnavism, Bhakti and Tantra,[552] that competed with each other, as well as with numerous sects of Buddhism and Jainism.[552][553] Buddhism declined, though many of its ideas, and even the Buddha himself, were absorbed into certain Brahmanical traditions.[554]

Srauta rituals declined in India and were replaced with Buddhist and Hindu initiatory rituals for royal courts.[555] Over time, some Buddhist practices were integrated into Hinduism, monumental Hindu temples were built in South Asia and Southeast Asia,[556] while Vajrayana Buddhism literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Saivism.[557]</ref>

The first edition of many Puranas were composed in this period. Examples include Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana with legends of Krishna,[558] while Padma Purana and Kurma Purana expressed reverence for Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti with equal enthusiasm;[559] all of them included topics such as Yoga practice and pilgrimage tour guides to Hindu holy sites.[560][561] Early colonial era orientalists proposed that the Puranas were religious texts of medieval Hinduism.[562] However, modern era scholars, such as Urs App, Ronald Inden and Ludo Rocher state that this is highly misleading because these texts were continuously revised, exist in numerous very different versions and are too inconsistent to be religious texts.[562][563][564]

Bhakti ideas centered around loving devotion to Vishnu and Shiva with songs and music, were pioneered in this period by the Alvars and Nayanars of South India.[565][566] Major Hinduism scholars of this period included Adi Shankara, Maṇḍana-Miśra, Padmapada and Sureśvara of the Advaita schools;[567] Śabara, Vatsyayana and Samkarasvamin of Nyaya-Vaisesika schools; Mathara and Yuktidipika (author unknown) of Samkhya-Yoga; Bhartrhari, Vasugupta and Abhinavagupta of Kashmir Shaivism, and Ramanuja of Vishishtadvaita school of Hinduism (Sri Vaishnavism).[568][web 21][569]

Babur visits a Hindu temple.

The Islamic rule period witnessed Hindu-Muslim confrontation and violence,[570][571] but "violence did not normally characterize the relations of Muslim and Hindu."[572][573] Enslavement of non-Muslims, especially Hindus in India, was part of the Muslim raids and conquests.[574][575] After the 14th century slavery become less common[576] and in 1562 "Akbar abolished the practice of enslaving the families of war captives."[577] Akbar recognized Hinduism, protected Hindu temples, and abolished Jizya (head taxes) against Hindus.[575][578] Occasionally, Muslim rulers of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire, before and after Akbar, from the 12th century to the 18th century, destroyed Hindu temples (eg. Kesavadeva Temple was destroyed at Mathura at Eidgah was built,[579][580] Bindumadhava temple was destroyed and Alamgir Mosque was built[581][582][584][note 47]) and persecuted non-Muslims.

Though Islam came to Indian subcontinent in the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders, it started impacting Indian religions after the 10th century, and particularly after the 12th century with the establishment and then expansion of Islamic rule.[585][586] During this period Buddhism declined rapidly, and a distinct Indo-Islamic culture emerged.[587] Under Akbar an "intriguing blend of Perso-Islamic and Rajput-Hindu traditions became manifest."[588] Nevertheless, many orthodox ulamas ("learned Islamic jurists") opposed the rapprochement of Hinduism and Islam,[588] and the two merely co-existed,[589] although there was more accommodation at the peasantry level of Indian society.[589]

According to Hardy, the Muslim rulers were not concerned with the number of converts, since the stability and continuity of their regime did not depend on the number of Muslims.[590] In general, religious conversion was a gradual process, with some converts attracted to pious Muslim saints, while others converted to Islam to gain tax relief, land grant, marriage partners, social and economic advancement,[591] or freedom from slavery.[592] In border regions such as the Punjab and eastern Bengal, the share of Muslims grew as large as 70% to 90% of the population, whereas in the heartland of Muslim rule, the upper Gangetic Plain, the Muslims constituted only 10 to 15% of the population.[note 48]

Between the 14th and 18th century, Hinduism was revived in certain provinces of India under two powerful states, viz. Vijayanagar and Maratha. In the 14th and 15th centuries Southern India saw the rise of the Hindu Vijayanagar Empire, which served as a barrier against invasion by the Muslim sultanates of the north, and it fostered the reconstruction of Hindu life and administration.[web 22] Vidyaranya, also known as Madhava, who was the 12th Jagadguru of the Śringeri Śarada Pītham from 1380–6,[593] and a minister in the Vijayanagara Empire,[594] helped establish Shankara as a rallying symbol of values, and helped spread historical and cultural influence of Shankara's Vedanta philosophies.[595][596] The Hindu Maratha Confederacy rose to power in the 18th century and ended up overthrowing Muslim power in India[597][598]

Another Hindu polity was the Eastern Ganga and Surya, which ruled much of present-day Odisha (historically known as Kalinga) from 11th century till mid-16th century CE. During the 13th and 14th centuries, when large parts of India were under the rule of Muslim powers, an independent Kalinga became a stronghold of Hindu religion, philosophy, art, and architecture. The Eastern Ganga rulers were great patrons of religion and the arts, and the temples they built are considered among the masterpieces of Hindu architecture.[599][600]

Hinduism underwent profound changes, aided in part by teachers such as Ramanuja, Madhva, and Chaitanya.[601] Tantra disappeared in northern India, partly due to Muslim rule,[602] while the Bhakti movement grew, with followers engaging in emotional, passionate and community-oriented devotional worship, participating in saguna or nirguna Brahman ideologies.[603][601][604] According to Nicholson, already between the 12th and the 16th century, "certain thinkers began to treat as a single whole the diverse philosophical teachings of the Upanishads, epics, Puranas, and the schools known retrospectively as the 'six systems' (saddarsana) of mainstream Hindu philosophy."[122][note 49] Michaels notes that a historicization emerged which preceded later nationalism, articulating ideas which glorified Hinduism and the past.[127]

With the onset of the British Raj, the colonization of India by the British, there also started a Hindu Renaissance in the 19th century, which profoundly changed the understanding of Hinduism in both India and the west.[605] Indology as an academic discipline of studying Indian culture from a European perspective was established in the 19th century, led by scholars such as Max Müller and John Woodroffe. They brought Vedic, Puranic and Tantric literature and philosophy to Europe and the United States. Western orientalist searched for the "essence" of the Indian religions, discerning this in the Vedas,[606] and meanwhile creating the notion of "Hinduism" as a unified body of religious praxis[607] and the popular picture of 'mystical India'.[607][605] This idea of a Vedic essence was taken over by Hindu reform movements as the Brahmo Samaj, which was supported for a while by the Unitarian Church,[608] together with the ideas of Universalism and Perennialism, the idea that all religions share a common mystic ground.[609] This "Hindu modernism", with proponents like Vivekananda, Aurobindo and Radhakrishnan, became central in the popular understanding of Hinduism.[610][611][612][613][56]

Influential 20th-century Hindus were Ramana Maharshi, B.K.S. Iyengar, Paramahansa Yogananda, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Srila Prabhupada (founder of ISKCON), Sri Chinmoy, Swami Rama and others who translated, reformulated and presented Hinduism's foundational texts for contemporary audiences in new iterations, raising the profiles of Yoga and Vedanta in the West and attracting followers and attention in India and abroad.

Hindu practices such as Yoga, Ayurvedic health, Tantric sexuality through Neotantra and the Kama Sutra have spread beyond Hindu communities and have been accepted by several non-Hindus:

Hinduism is attracting Western adherents through the affiliated practice of yoga. Yoga centers in the West—which generally advocate vegetarianism—attract young, well-educated Westerners who are drawn by yoga's benefits for the physical and emotional health; there they are introduced to the Hindu philosophical system taught by most yoga teachers, known as Vedanta.[614]

It is estimated that around 30 million Americans and 5 million Europeans regularly practice some form of Hatha Yoga.[615] In Australia, the number of practitioners is about 300,000.[web 23] In New Zealand the number is also around 300,000.[web 24]

In the 20th century, Hinduism also gained prominence as a political force and a source for national identity in India. With origins traced back to the establishment of the Hindu Mahasabha in the 1910s, the movement grew with the formulation and development of the Hindutva ideology in the following decades; the establishment of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1925; and the entry, and later success, of RSS offshoots Jana Sangha and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in electoral politics in post-independence India.[616] Hindu religiosity plays an important role in the nationalist movement.[617][note 50][note 51]

In the modern era, religious conversion from and to Hinduism has been a controversial subject. Some state the concept of missionary conversion, either way, is anathema to the precepts of Hinduism.[626]

Religious conversion to Hinduism has a long history outside India. Merchants and traders of India, particularly from the Indian peninsula, carried their religious ideas, which led to religious conversions to Hinduism in southeast Asia.[627][628][629] Within India, archeological and textual evidence such as the 2nd-century BCE Heliodorus pillar suggest that Greeks and other foreigners converted to Hinduism.[630][631] The debate on proselytization and religious conversion between Christianity, Islam and Hinduism is more recent, and started in the 19th century.[632][633][note 52]

Religious leaders of some Hindu reform movements such as the Arya Samaj launched Shuddhi movement to proselytize and reconvert Muslims and Christians back to Hinduism,[637][638] while those such as the Brahmo Samaj suggested Hinduism to be a non-missionary religion.[626] All these sects of Hinduism have welcomed new members to their group, while other leaders of Hinduism's diverse schools have stated that given the intensive proselytization activities from missionary Islam and Christianity, this "there is no such thing as proselytism in Hinduism" view must be re-examined.[626][637][639]

The appropriateness of conversion from major religions to Hinduism, and vice versa, has been and remains an actively debated topic in India,[640][641][642] and in Indonesia.[643]