Rituals, social practices, and institutions
Sacrifice and worship

Although the Vedic fire rituals were largely replaced in Purāṇic Puranic and modern Hinduism by image worship and other forms of devotionalism, many Hindu rites can still be traced back to Vedism. Certain royal sacrifices—such as the rājasūyarajasuya, or consecration ritual, and the horse sacrifice (aśvamedha)—remained ritual—remained popular with Hindu kings until very recentlymodern times. Other large-scale Vedic sacrifices (śrautashrauta) have been regularly maintained from ancient times to the present by certain families and groups of Brahmans. By and large, however, the The surviving rituals from the Vedic period, however, tend to be most clearly observed at the level of the domestic (gṛhyagrihya) ritual.

Domestic rites

The Vedic householder was expected to maintain a domestic fire into which he made his offerings. Normally he did this himself, but in many cases he employed a Brahman officiant. In the course of time, the family priest was given a large part in these ceremonies, so that most Hindus have employed Brahmans for the administration of the “sacraments” (samskaras). The samskaras Sudras, the fourth and lowest of the social classes of India, are allowed to perform some samskaras if they do not require the use of Vedic mantras. The samskaras include all important life-cycle events, from conception to cremation, and are the main constituents of the domestic ritual.The sacraments

Samskaras: rites of passage

The samskaras are transitional rites intended to


prepare a person


for a certain


event or for the next stage in life



acquire no reward

not be rewarded for any ritual acts. The

sacraments, while sanctifying

samskaras sanctify critical moments


and are


deemed necessary for unfolding a person’s latent capacities for development.

Samskaras: rites of passage

In antiquity there was a great divergence of opinion about the number of rites of passage, but in later times 16 were regarded recognized as the most important. In modern times most samskaras (except those of impregnation, initiation, and marriage) have fallen into disuse or are performed in an abridged or simplified form without Vedic mantras or a priest.

The impregnation rite, consecrating the supposed intended time of conception, consists of a ritual meal of pounded rice (mixed “with with various other things according to whether the married man desires a fair, brown, or dark son; a learned son; or a learned daughter”daughter), an offering of rice boiled in milk, the sprinkling of the woman, and intercourse; all acts are also accompanied by mantras mantras. In the third month of pregnancy the rite called puṃsavana punsavana (begetting of a son) follows. The birth is itself the subject of elaborate ceremonies, the main features of which are an oblation of ghee (clarified butter) cast into the fire; the introduction of a pellet of honey and ghee into the newborn child’s mouth, which according to many authorities is an act intended to produce mental and bodily physical strength; the murmuring of mantras mantras for the sake of a long life; and rites to counteract inauspicious influences. There is much divergence of opinion as to the time of the name-giving ceremony; in addition to the personal name, there is often another one that should be kept secret for fear of sinister designs against the child. In modern times most samskaras (with the exceptions of impregnation, initiation, and marriage) have in many areas fallen into disuse or are performed in an abridged or simplified form without Vedic mantras or a priest. This tendency was encouraged by the accommodating spirit of the Brahmans, who allowed their clients easy atonements for the nonobservance of rites. The defining moment comes, however, when the father utters the nameinto the child’s ear.


There is also an array of life-cycle rites that focuses specifically upon the lives of girls and women. In South India, for instance, one finds an initiation rite (vilakkitu kalyanam) that corresponds roughly to upanayana, the male initiation, and that gives girls the authority to light oil lamps and thereby to become full participants in proper domestic worship. Other rites celebrate first menstruation or mark various moments surrounding childbirth. Typically women act as officiants.

The important upanayana initiation is held when a boy is between the ages of eight 8 and 12 and marks his entry into the community of the three higher classes of society. In this rite he becomes a “twice-born one,” or dvija. Traditionally, this was also the beginning of a long period of Veda study and education in the house under the guidance of a teacher (guru). In modern practice, the haircutting ceremony—formerly performed in a boy’s third year—and the initiation are usually performed on the same day, the homecoming ceremony at the end of the period of study being little more than a formality.

Wedding ceremonies, the most important of all, have not only remained elaborate—and often very expensive—but have also incorporated various elements—among others, propitiations and expiations—that are not indicated in the oldest sources. Already in ancient times there existed great divergences in accordance with local customs or family or caste traditions. However, the following practices are usually considered essential in the performance of the wedding rite. The date is fixed only after careful astrological calculation; the bridegroom is conducted to the home of his future parents-in-law, who receive him as an honoured guest; there are offerings of roasted grain into the fire; the bridegroom has to take hold of the bride’s hand; he conducts her around the sacrificial fire; seven steps are taken by bride and bridegroom to solemnize the irrevocability of the unity; both are, in procession, conducted to their new home, which the bride enters without touching the threshold.

Of eight forms of marriage recognized by the ancient authorities, two have remained in vogue: the simple gift of a girl bride and the legalization of the alliance by means of a marriage gift paid to the bride’s family. In the Vedic period, girls do seem not seem to have married before they had reached maturitypuberty. Child marriage and the condemnation of the remarriage of widows, especially among the higher classes, became customary later and have gradually, since the mid-19th century, lost their stringency.

The traditional funeral method is cremation (a family affair), burial being . Burial is reserved for those who have not been sufficiently purified by samskaras samskaras (i.e., children) and those who no longer need the ritual fire to be conveyed to the hereafter, such as ascetics who have renounced all earthly concerns. An important and meritorious complement of the funeral offices is the sraddha ceremony, in which food is offered to Brahmans for the benefit of the deceased. Many people are still solicitous to perform this rite at least once a year, even when they no longer engage in any of the five obligatory daily offerings discussed below.

Daily offerings

There are five obligatory offerings: (1) offerings to the gods (food taken from the meal); , (2) a cursory offering (bali) made to “all beings”; beings,” (3) a libation of water mixed with sesame offered to the spirits of the deceased; , (4) hospitality; , and (5) recitation of the VedaVedas. Although some traditions prescribe a definite ritual in which these five “sacrifices” are performed, in most cases the five daily offerings are merely a way of speaking about one’s religious obligations in general.

Other private rites

The morning and evening adorations (sandhyāsandhya), being a very important duty of the traditional householder, are mainly Vedic in character , but they have, by have become lengthy because of the addition of Purāṇic Puranic and Tantric elements, become lengthy rituals. If not shortened, the morning ceremonies consist of self-purification, bathing, prayers, and recitation of mantras mantras, especially the Gāyatrī Gayatri-mantra (Rigveda 3.62.10), a prayer for spiritual stimulation addressed to the Sun. The accompanying ritual includes (1) the application of marks on the forehead, characterizing the adherents of a particular religious community, (2) the presentation of offerings (water, flowers) to the Sun, and (3) meditative concentration. There are Śaiva Shaiva and Vaishnava variants, and some elements are optional. The observance of the daily obligations, including the care of bodily purity and professional duties, leads to mundane earthly reward and helps to preserve the state of sanctity required to enter into contact with the divine.

Temple worship

Image worship in sectarian Hinduism takes place both in small household shrines in each house and in the temple. Many Hindu authorities claim that regular temple worship to one of the deities of the devotional cults procures the same results for the worshiper as did the performance of one of the great Vedic sacrifices, and one who provides the patronage for the construction of a temple is called a “sacrificer” (yajamānayajamana).

TemplesThe erection of


location with respect

proximity to human dwellings

; for example, a sanctuary of a benevolent deity should face the village

. The

construction of a temple is, because of its symbolic value, described in great detail. There is much diversity in

size and artistic value of temples range widely,



; see photograph


From the point of view of construction there is no striking difference between Śaiva and Vaishnava sanctuaries, which are easily recognizable by the image or symbols in the centre, the images on the walls, the symbol fixed on the finial (crowning ornament) of the top, and Śiva’s bull, Nandi, or Vishnu’s bird, Garuḍa (the theriomorphic duplicate manifestations of each god’s nature), in front of the entrance. Services, which


on the other hand

however, many regional differences


and even significant variations within the same community.


Hindu worship (puja) consists essentially of an invocation, a reception, and the entertainment of God as a royal guest. It normally consists of 16 “attendances” (upacāra): invocation by which the omnipresent God is invited to direct his attention to the particular worship; the offering of a seat, water (for washing the feet, for washing the hands, and for rinsing the mouth), a bath, a garment, a sacred thread, perfumes, flowers, incense, a lamp, food, and homage; and a circumambulation of the image and dismissal by God.

The Pāñcarātra Vaishnavas in South India introduced the songs of the Dravidian poets into their temple cult and regard these poets and their great teachers as incarnations of God, even to the point of worshiping their images. The Śaivas also have songs of their own but were, generally speaking, more open to Tantric elements and to the admission in their cult of dances executed by dancing girls. In both religious groups, some communities cling to the traditional Sanskrit mantras while others also use other languages.

The first phase of worship is the reverential opening of the temple door and the adoration of the powers presiding over it: according to the Vaikhānasa Vaishnavas, the symbolic opening of heaven; and to the Śaivas, an act to secure the building’s protection. The divine powers whose images are carved in the doorjambs promote the process of transmutation without which man cannot even enter into the presence of God, whose image is established in the cella (garbhagṛha). This image is honoured with gifts, notably flowers, fruit, and perfumes. Small portions of the consecrated food (prasāda) are given to visiting worshipers. The offering into the fire (homa) of Vedic origin has been retained in nearly all extended puja ceremonies. The main purpose of the rites is the meditative identification of the worshiper with the divine Presence; the enactment, in a gradual process of development, of the realization of the union of the worshiper’s soul and God. The Vaikhānasas distinguish between the transcendent and unanalyzable Brahman and its immanent and analyzable aspect and invoke God to descend out of compassion from the immovable image—the permanent “seat” of the former—into a movable cult image in which he converses with the world, represented by the worshiper. Those denominations (both Śrīvaiṣṇavas and Śaivas) that adopted Tantric practices believe that God comes, during these ceremonies, also out of the worshiper’s heart or that the worshiper’s soul leaves his body to reach God’s feet in heaven, to descend from there in a new body that is meditatively created.

A remarkable rite of yogic-Tantric origin, also used in other ritual contexts, is the transmutation of water into the elixir of life and immortality (amṛta), the essential element of which is drawn from the spot between the worshiper’s eyebrows, regarded as the seat of Śiva’s highest aspect.

Śaivas transform themselves into Śiva by means of complicated preparatory rites, because, they say, “Śiva alone can worship Śiva.” Some authorities also enjoin a mental worship and sacrifice, without which “exterior” rites are rendered senseless. The merit of the performances is often said to be entrusted to God’s keeping for the sake of the worshiper. Many Vaishnavas emphasize that puja is meant to propitiate God disinterestedly.

Śaiva ritesShaiva rites

Ascetic tendencies were much in evidence among the PāśupatasPashupatas, the oldest Śaiva Shaiva tradition in North India, the last adherents of which now live in Nepal. Pāśupatas often gave offense because of their customs and ritual practices. Their yoganorthern India. Their Yoga, consisting of a constant meditative contact with God in solitude, required that they frequent burning places for cremated cremating bodies. More extreme groups One group that emerged out of the Pashupata sect carried human skulls (hence the name KāpālikasKapalikas, from kapālakapala, “skull”) which they used . The Kapalikas used the skulls as bowls for liquor into which they projected and worshiped Śiva worshipped Shiva as KāpālikaKapalika, “the Skull the “Skull Bearer,” or Bhairava, “the Frightful the “Frightful One,” and then drank to become intoxicated. Their belief was that an ostentatious indifference to anything worldly was the best method of severing the ties of samsara.

The view and way of life peculiar to the VīraśaivasVirashaivas, or Liṅgāyats Lingayats (lingamLingam-bearersBearers), in southwestern India is mainly characterized by a deviation from some common Hindu traditions and institutions such as sacrificial rites, temple worship, pilgrimages, child marriages, and inequality of the sexes. Initiation (dīkṣādiksa) is, on the other hand, an obligation laid on every member of the community. The spiritual power of the guru is bestowed upon the newborn and converts, who receive the eightfold shield , (which protects devotees from ignorance of the supremacy of God and guides them to final beatitude, ) and the lingam (phallic symbol). The miniature lingam, the centre and basis of all their religious practices and observances, which they always bear on their body, is held to be God himself concretely represented. Worship is due it twice or three times a day. When a Liṅgāyat Lingayat “is absorbed into the lingam” (i.e., dies), his body is not cremated, as is customary in Hinduism, but is interred, like ascetics of other groups. Those Liṅgāyats Lingayats who have reached a certain level of holiness are supposed believed to die in the state of emancipation.

ŚaivismShaivism, though inclined in doctrinal matters to adoptive inclusivisminclusiveness, inculcates some fundamental lines of conduct: one should worship one’s spiritual preceptor (guru) as God himself, follow his path, consider him to be present in oneself, and dissociate oneself from all opinions and practices that are incompatible with the Śaiva Shaiva creed. Yet some of Śiva’s Shiva’s devotees also worship other gods, and the “Śivaization” “Shaivization” of various ancient traditions is sometimes rather superficial.

Like many other Indian religions, the ŚaivaShaiva-siddhānta siddhanta has developed an elaborate system of ethical philosophy, primarily with a view to preparing the way for those who aspire to liberation. Because dharma leads to happiness, there is no distinction between sacred and secular duties. All deeds are performed as services to God and with the conviction that all life is sacred and God-centred. A devout way of living and a nonemotional mysticism are thus much recommended. Kashmir Śaivism Shaivism developed the practice of a simple method of salvation: by the recognition (pratyabhijñāpratyabhijna)—direct, spontaneous, technique-free, but full of bhakti—of bhakti—of one’s identity with God.

Vaishnava rites

The day of the faithful Śrīvaiṣṇava Brahman is usually devoted to Shrivaishnava Brahman arranges his day around five pursuits: purificatory rites, collecting the requisites for worship, acts of worship, study and contemplation of the meaning of the sacred books, and meditative concentration on the Lord’s image. Lifelong obligations include the performance of sacrifices and other rites, restraint of the senses, fasting and soberness, worship, recitation of the scriptures, and visits to sacred places. In addition, to those who aspire to liberation, Rāmānuja recommends Ramanuja, the great theologian and philosopher of the 12th century, recommended, in addition to these practices, concentration on God, a virtuous way of living, and insensibility to luck and misfortune. According to Madhva (c. 1199–c. 1278), a faithful observance of all regulations of daily conduct—including bathing, breath control, etc.—will contribute to eventual success in the quest for liberation. Devout Vaishnavas are inclined to emphasize God’s omnipotence and the far-reaching effects of his grace. They attach much value to the repeated murmuring repetition of his name or of sacred formulas (japa) and to the praise and commemoration of his deeds as a means of self-realization and of unification with his essence. Special stress is laid on ahimsa as a virtue (“noninjury”), the practice of not killing or not causing injury to living creatures.

Sacred times and placesFestivalsfestivals



, music, dances

(which by their rhythm have a compelling force)

, magical acts—participants throw fertilizing water or, during the


Holi festival, coloured powder at each other—eating, drinking, lovemaking, licentiousness, feeding the poor, and other activities of a religious or traditional character. The original


purpose of these activities

are clear from ancient literature and anthropological research: they are intended








aware of the festival’s original character

of the festival


An important festival, formerly celebrating


Kama, the god of sexual desire, survives in the


Holi, a saturnalia connected with the spring equinox and in western India with the wheat harvest.

The lower classes observe it in its boisterous and licentious form. There are local variants: among the Marāṭhās,


are “danced” by their descendants





tradition that accounts for the festival of Holi describes how young


Prahlada, in spite of his demonic father’s opposition,

persisted in worshiping

worshipped Vishnu and was carried into the fire by the female demon


Holika, the embodiment of evil, who




Prahlada emerged unharmed, while







The New Year festival, according to another Indian calendar, Dīwālī, though celebrated by

Hindus celebrate a number of other important festivals, including Diwali, in which all classes of society participate, though it is


believed to have been given by Vishnu to the


Vaishyas (traders,


et al.)

; it

. It takes place in October

, with

and features worship and ceremonial lights in honour of


Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune; fireworks to chase away the spirits of the deceased; and gambling, an old ritual custom intended to secure luck for the coming year. The nine-day


Durga festival, or


Navaratri, is, especially in Bengal, splendid homage to

Śakti, and

Shakti; in South India


it is a celebration of


Rama’s victory over

Pilgrimages and fairs

Like processions, pilgrimages (tīrthayātrā) to holy rivers (tīrtha) and other places were already known in Vedic and epic times and are even now one of the most remarkable aspects of Indian religious life. Many sections of the Purāṇas eulogize temples and the sacredness of places situated in beautiful scenery or wild solitude (especially the Himalayas). The whole of India, and especially Kurukshetra (presumed to be the scene of the great war portrayed in the Mahābhārata) in the northwest, is considered holy ground that offers everyone the opportunity to reach emancipation. The number of places of pilgrimage of regional significance amounts to many hundreds, but some of them (Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwār, Vārānasi [Benares], Kānchipuram, Ujjain, and Dwārka) have for many centuries possessed exceptional holiness. The reason for such sanctity derives from their location on the bank of a holy river, especially of the Ganges, from their connection with legendary figures of antiquity who are said to have lived there, or from the local legend of a manifestation of a god. Many places are sacred to a specific god; the district of Mathura, for example, encompasses many places of pilgrimage connected with the Krishna legends. Visits to holy places may bestow special benefits upon pilgrims; temples or ponds dedicated to Sūrya (the Sun) are visited in order to recover from leprosy, other places to escape from astrological threats. Pilgrimages to Gaya (Bihār state)—where visitors are escorted around the sacred centres by Brahman temple priests who maintain certain ritual connections with their clients—are undertaken for the sake of the welfare of deceased ancestors. In most cases, however, the devotee hopes for worldly rewards (health, wealth, children) or for spiritual rewards such as deliverance from sin or pollution, preservation of religious merit, rebirth in a heaven, or even emancipation. The last prospect is held out to those who, when death is near, travel to Vārānasi to die near the Ganges.

On special occasions, be they auspicious or, like a solar eclipse, inauspicious, the devout crowds increase enormously. Most important shrines also organize gatherings (melas), that are partly fairs, partly religious demonstrations. These journeys, which are undertaken by individuals or groups in order to discharge a vow or to please a god, confirm the devotees in their faith, provide them with an opportunity for spiritual retreat, or bring their inner life nearer to a state of perfection. They have contributed much to the spread of religious ideas and the cultural unification of India.

Ritual and social status

Some observers have claimed that Hinduism is as much a way of social life as it is a religion. Ravana.

Ritual and social status
Social structure

The caste system, which has organized Indian society for


millennia, is thoroughly legitimated by and intertwined with Hindu religious doctrine and practice. Four social classes, or






Vaishyas, and


Sudras—provide the simplified structure for the enormously complicated system of thousands of castes and subcastes

within Indian society. Although it is not certain whether a society limited to four classes was ever more than a theoretical ideal, there is a sense in which they map out socioreligious reality. Such is evident from the Puruṣa


in which


statement that the

Brahman was the


Purusha’s mouth, the

nobleman (Kṣatriya)

Kshatriya his arms, the


Vaishya his thighs, and the




the functions and mutual relations of the four main social classes.

The three main classes in the classic division of Indian society are the Brahmans, the warriors, and the commoners. The Brahmans, whatever their worldly avocations, claim to be by virtue of their birth a perpetual incarnation of the dharma, guardians and dispensers of divine power, entitled to teach the Veda, sacrificing for others and accepting gifts and subsistence

; the

. The term alms is misleading

, and

; the


daksina offered at the end of a rite to a Brahman officiant is not a fee but an oblation through which the rite is made complete. Brahmans are held to be the highest of all human beings because of

their preeminence,

the superiority of their origin, their sanctification through the


samskaras (rites of passage), and their observance of restrictive rules. The main duty of the nobility (the


Kshatriyas) is to protect the people, that of the commoners (the


Vaishyas) to tend cattle, to trade, and to cultivate land. Even if a king (theoretically of


Kshatriya descent) was not of noble descent,

such an upholder of dharma



, for example, is the residence of




Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune. All three higher classes, claiming Aryan descent, had to sacrifice and to study the Veda, although the responsibilities of the


Vaishyas in sacred matters were less demanding.

While this tripartition seems

, in the main,

to have been inherited from Indo-European times, the fourth class (the


Sudras), whose sole duty


was “to serve meekly” (

Mānava Dharmaśāstra

Manava dharma-shastra 1.91)

the other classes



is partly descended from the subjugated non-Aryans, a fact that accounts for


its many disabilities and exclusion from religious status. According to Hindu tradition, the Veda should not be studied in their presence, but they may listen to the recitation of epics and





Yet a distinction is often made among


Sudras. Some are purer and have a more correct behaviour and way of living than others, the former tending to assimilate with higher castes, the latter to rank with the lowest in the social scale, who, often called


Chandalas, were at an early date

sweepers, bearers of

charged with sweeping, bearing corpses,

or charged with

and other impure occupations. Ritual purity was




the “twice-

born man”

born” as a




Sudras into the Brahmanic system. The Brahmans, who have far into modern times remained

, on the whole,

a respected, traditional, and sometimes intellectual upper class, were


(until the 1930s) much in demand because of their knowledge of rites and traditions. Although






The origin of the caste system is not known with certainty. Hindus account for maintain that the proliferation of the castes (jātijatis, literally “births”) by was the subdividing of the four classes, or varnas, due to result of intermarriage (which is prohibited in Hindu works on dharma), which led to the subdivision of the four classes, or varnas. Modern theorists, however, tend to assume that castes arose from differences in family ritual practices, racial distinctions, and occupational differentiation and specialization. Many modern scholars Scholars also doubt whether the simple varna system was ever more than a theoretical socioreligious ideal and have emphasized that the highly complex division of Hindu society into nearly 3,000 castes and subcastes was probably in place even in ancient times.

In general, a caste is an endogamous hereditary group of families , bearing a common name; , often claiming a common descent; , as a rule professing to follow the same hereditary calling; , clinging to the same customs, especially regarding purity, meals, and marriages; , and often further divided into smaller endogamous circles. Moreover, tribes, guilds, or religious communities characterized by particular customs—for example, the Lingāyats—could Lingayats—could easily be regarded as castes. The status of castes varies in different localities. Although social mobility is possible, the mutual relationship of castes is hierarchically determined: local Brahman groups occupy the highest place, and differences in ritual purity are the main criteria of position in the hierarchy. Most impure are the untouchables, or, to use modern names, the exterior or referred to as scheduled castes in the constitution of modern India and popularly called Harijans. Among the scheduled castes, which, however, have among themselves numerous divisionsthere are numerous subdivisions, each of which regards itself as superior to others.

Traditional Hindus are inclined to emphasize maintain that the ritual impurity and “untouchability” inherent in these groups does not essentially differ from that temporarily proper to associated with mourners or menstruating women. This, and the fact that some exterior group or other might rise in estimation and become an interior one , or that individual outcastes might be well-to-do, does not alter the fact that the spirit of exclusiveness was in the course of time has been carried to extremes at times. The scheduled castes were subjected to various socioreligious disabilities before mitigating tendencies helped bring about reform; after . After independence, social discrimination was prohibited, and the practice of preventing access to religious, occupational, or civil rights on the grounds of untouchability was made a punishable offense (it was not abolished, however). Scheduled . Despite these prohibitions, scheduled castes were barred from the use of temples and other religious institutions and from public schools. These groups also had many disabilities in relations with private persons.

From the traditional Hindu point of view, this social system is the necessary complement of the principles of dharma, karma, and samsara. Corresponding to hells and heavenly regions in the hereafter, the castes are the mundane , social frame within which karma is manifested. A low social status is the inevitable result of sins in a former life but can, by virtue and merit, be followed by a better position in the next existence.

Social protest

For many centuries certain Indian religious communities have been dedicated in whole or in part to the elimination of caste discrimination. Many have been guided by bhakti sentiments, including the Virauaivas, Sikhs, Kabir Panthis, Satnemis, and Remnemis, all of whom bear a complicated relation to the greater Hindu fold. A major theme in bhakti poetry throughout India has been the ridicule of caste and the etiquette of ritual purity that relates to it. This element is stronger among the bhakti poets who accept the concept of nirguna, which holds that brahman is to be characterized as without qualities, than the poets who advocate the idea of saguna, which maintains that brahman possesses qualities.

Other religions have provided members of low-ranked castes with a further hope for escaping social hierarchies associated with Hindu practice. Sikhism has traditionally rejected caste, a position clearly emphasized in the gurdwaras, where access to sacred scripture, the Adi Granth, is granted without regard to caste and communal meals are served to all Sikhs. Islam played this role in Kerala from the 8th century onward and elsewhere in India since the 12th century, but some convert groups have retained their original caste organization even after embracing Islam. Christianity has exercised a similar force, serving for centuries as a magnet for disadvantaged Hindus. In 1956 B.R. Ambedkar, the principal framer of the Indian constitution and a member of the scheduled Mahar caste, abandoned Hinduism for Buddhism, and millions of his lower-caste followers eventually also converted to Buddhism. Yet many Ambedkarite Dalits (the “Oppressed”) continue to venerate saints such as Kabir, Cokhamela, and Ravidas, who figure in the general lore of Hindu bhakti. Other Dalits, especially members of the Camer caste (traditionally leather workers), have gone further, identifying themselves explicitly as Ravidasis, creating a scripture that features his poetry and building temples that house his image. Still other Dalit communities have claimed since the early 20th century that they represent India’s original religion (adi dharma), rejecting caste-coded Vedic beliefs and practices as perversions introduced by Aryan invaders in the 2nd millennium BCE.

Renunciants and the rejection of social order


Religious orders and holy menThose members


InitiationGenerally speaking,

Hindus are free to join




diksha), a


rite of purification or consecration involving




Shaiva patterns of Hinduism.





diksha (initiation as a teacher) and is often regarded as representing God himself. The postulant is sometimes committed to a probationary period, to training in


Yoga mysticism, or to instruction in the esoteric meaning of the scriptures. The initiate receives a devotional name and is given the

distinctive mantras

sacred mantras of the community

, which, because they are sacred, must never be misused






The initiate guided by


a guru may

apply himself to yoga


in which he may find the

and thereby find supreme knowledge, achieve spiritual autonomy, and realize



combined with

theistic and may adopt various philosophical or religious


principles. Every denomination attempted to implement






Yogic methods for worldly purposes.

Sectarian symbols




If he is a

A Vaishnava


might possess a discus (chakra) and a conch shell (




shalagrama stone or a



Lakṣmī. If he is a Śaiva, he

Lakshmi. A Shaiva might impersonate


Shiva and carry a trident (




mantras, is felt to be in them.

The attitude toward asceticism has always been ambivalent. On the one hand, there is a genuine regard for hermits and wandering ascetics and a desire to gain spiritual merit by feeding religious mendicants. On the other hand, the fact that fringe members of society may find a sort of respectable status among Śaiva ascetics often led to a decline in the moral reputation of the latter.

Cultural expressions: visual arts, theatre, and dance

The structure of Indian temples, the outward form of images, and indeed the very character of Indian art are largely determined by the religion and a traditional view of the worldunique worldview of India, which penetrated the other provinces of culture and welded them into a homogeneous whole. Indian Moreover, the art that emerged is highly symbolic. The much-developed ritual-religious symbolism presupposes the existence of a spiritual reality that , being in constant touch with phenomenal reality, may make its presence and influence felt in the material world and can also be approached through the symbols that belong to both spheresits representative symbols.

The production of objects of symbolic value is therefore more than a technique. The artisan can begin work only after entering into a state of supranormal consciousness and must model a cult image after the ideal prototype that appears in his mind (in certain canonical forms) only when he has brought himself to a state of supranormal consciousness. After undergoing a process of spiritual transformation himself, he also transforms the material of which the image is to be made the artisan is believed to transform the material used to create the image into a receptacle of divine power. Like the artisan, the worshiper (sādhakasadhaka, “the one who wishes to attain the goal”), must grasp the esoteric meaning of a statue, picture, or pot and identify his or her self with the power residing in it. The usual offering, a handful of flowers, is the vehicle used means to convey the worshiper’s “life-breath” into the external image, which has already been transformed into an adequate internal vision of the same divine power.

Types of symbols

If they know how to handle the symbols, the worshipers—who must achieve their object themselves and cannot come into contact with God unless they insistently invoke him—have at their disposition worshipers have at their disposal an instrument for utilizing the possibilities lying in the depths of their own subconscious as well as a key to the mysteries of the forces dominating the world.

Yantra and mandala

The general term for an “instrument [for controlling]” is yantra, which , while denoting in a wider sense is especially applied to ritual diagrams but can also be applied to cult images, pictures, and other such aids to worship, is often especially applied to ritual diagrams. Any yantra represents some aspect of the divine and enables devotees to worship it immediately within their hearts while identifying themselves with it. Except in its greater linear complicationcomplexity, a mandala does not differ from a yantra, and both are drawn during a highly complex ritual in a purified and ritually consecrated place. The meaning and the use of both are similar, and they may be permanent or provisional. A mandala, delineating a consecrated place and protecting it against disintegrating forces represented in demoniac cycles, is the geometric projection of the universe, spatially and temporally reduced to its essential plan. It represents in a schematic form the whole drama of disintegration and reintegration, and the adept can use it to identify with the forces governing these. As in temple ritual, a vase is employed to receive the divine power so that it can be projected into the drawing and then into the person of the adept. Thus, the mandala becomes a support for meditation, an instrument to provoke visions of the unseen.

A good example of a mandala is the śrīcakrashrichakra, “the Wheel the “Wheel of Śrī” Shri” (i.e., of God’s shakti), which is composed of four isosceles triangles with the apices upward, symbolizing ŚivaShiva, and five isosceles triangles with the apices downward, symbolizing Śakti; the Shakti. The nine triangles are of various sizes and intersect with one another. In the middle is the power point (bindu), visualizing the highest, the invisible, elusive centre from which the entire figure and the cosmos expand. The triangles are enclosed by two rows of (eight 8 and 16) petals, representing the lotus of creation and reproductive vital force. The broken lines of the outer frame denote the figure to be a sanctuary with four openings to the regions of the universe. A “spiritual” foundation is provided by a yantra, called the mandala of the Puruṣa Purusha (spirit) of the site, that is also drawn on the site on which a temple is built. This rite is a reenactment of a variant of the myth of PuruṣaPurusha, an immortal primeval being who obstructed both worlds until he was subdued by the gods; the parts of his body became the spirits of the site.

Lingam and yoni

One of the most common objects of worship, whether in temples or in the household cult, is the lingam (phallus). Often much stylized and an austere rather than literally sexual symbol, erect and representing the cosmic pillar, it emanates its all-producing energy to the four quarters of the universe. As the symbol of male creative energy it is frequently combined with its female counterpart (yoni), the latter forming the base from which the lingam rises. Although the lingam originally may have had no relation to ŚivaShiva, it has from ancient times been regarded as symbolizing Śiva’s Shiva’s creative energy and is widely worshiped worshipped as his fundamental form.

Visual theology in icons

The beauty of cult objects contributes is believed to contribute to their force power as sacred instruments: , and their ornamentation facilitates is held to facilitate the process of inviting the divine power into them. Statues of gods are not intended to imitate ideal human forms but to express the supernatural. A divine figure is a “likeness” (pratimāpratima), a temporary benevolent or terrifying expression of some aspect of a god’s nature. Iconographic handbooks attach great importance to the ideology behind images and reveal, for example, that Vishnu’s eight arms stand for the four cardinal and intermediate points of the compass and that his four faces, illustrating the concept of God’s fourfoldness, typify his strength, knowledge, lordship, and potency. The emblems express the qualities of their bearers— ebearers—e.g., a deadly weapon symbolizes destructive force, many-headedness omniscience. Much use is made of gestures (mudras), conventional devices for denoting activities that express an idea; thusmudras); for example, the raised right hand, in the “fear-not” gesture (abhaya-mudrāmudra), bestows protection. Every iconographic detail has its own symbolic value, helping devotees to direct their energy to a deeper understanding of the various aspects of the divine and to proceed from external to internal worship. For many Indians, an installed and a consecrated image becomes is a container of concentrated divine energy; according to , and Hindu theists , maintain that it is an instrument for ennobling the worshiper who realizes God’s presence in it.

The arts
Religious principles in sculpture and painting

The dance executed by Śiva as king of dancers (NaṭǦİāja), the visible symbol of the rhythm of the universe, represents God’s five activities: he unfolds the universe out of the drum held in one of his right hands; he preserves it by uplifting his other right hand in abhaya-mudrā; he reabsorbs it with his upper left hand, which bears a tongue of flame; his transcendental essence is hidden behind the garb of apparitions, and grace is bestowed and release made visible by the foot that is held aloft and to which the hands are made to point; and the other foot, planted on the ground, gives an abode to the tired souls struggling in samsara. Another dance pose adopted by Śiva is the doomsday tandava, executed in his destructive Bhairava manifestation, usually with 10 arms and accompanied by Devī and demons. The related myth is that Śiva conquered a mighty elephant demon whom he forced to dance until he fell dead; then, wrapped in the blood-dripping skin of his victim, the god executed a horrendous dance of victoryLike literature and the performing arts, the visual arts contributed to the perpetuation of myths. Images sustain the presence of the god: when Devī Devi is shown seated on her lion, advancing against the buffalo demon, seated on her lion, she represents the affirmative forces of the universe and the triumph of divine power over wickedness. Male and female figures in uninterrupted embrace, as in Śaiva Shaiva iconography, signify the union of opposites and the eternal process of generation. Lovers sculpted on temples are auspicious symbols on a par with foliage, water jars, and other representatives of fertility.Like literature and the performing arts, the visual arts also contributed to the perpetuation of myths. Hindu sculpture tends to be less narrative than Buddhist, which delights in scenes from the Buddha’s lives. In Hindu sculpture the tendency is toward hieratic poses of a god in a particular conventional stance ( mūrtimurti; image), which, once fixed, perpetuates itself. An icon is a frozen incident of a myth. For example, one mūrti (image) of Śiva murti of Shiva is the “destruction of the elephant,” in which Śiva Shiva appears dancing before and below a bloody elephant skin that he holds up before the image of his horrified consort; the stance is the summary of his triumph over the elephant demon. A god may also appear in a characteristic pose while holding in his multitudinous hands his various emblems, on each of which hangs a story. Lovers sculpted on temples are auspicious symbols on a par with foliage, water jars, and other representatives of fertility. Carvings, such as those that appear on temple chariots, tend to be more narrative; even more so are the miniature paintings of the Middle Ages. A favourite theme in the latter is the myth of the cowherd god Krishna and his love of the cowherd wives cowherdesses (gopīgopis).

Religious organization of sacred architecture

Temples must be erected on a site that is śubha (isites that are shubha—i.e., suitable, beautiful, auspicious, and near water) because water—because it is thought that the gods will not come to other places. However, temples are not necessarily designed to be congenial to their surroundings, because a manifestation of the sacred is an irruption, a break in phenomenal continuity. Temples are said to constitute an opening in the upward direction to ensure communication with the gods; they are understood to be visible representations of a cosmic pillar, and their site is sites are said to be a navel navels of the world and are believed to ensure communication with the gods. Their outward appearance must raise the expectation of meeting with God. Their erection is a reconstruction and reintegration of PuruṣaPurusha-PrajāpatiPrajapati, enabling him to continue his creative activity, and the finished monuments are symbols of the universe that is the unfolded One. The owner of the temple (i.e., the individual or community that paid for its construction)—also called the sacrificer—participates in the process of reintegration and experiences his spiritual rebirth in the small cella, aptly called the “womb room” (garbhagṛhagarbhagriha), by means of meditative contact with meditating on the God’s presence, symbolized or actualized in his consecrated image. The cella is in the centre of the temple above the navel—inavel—i.e., the foundation stone; stone—and it may contain a jar filled with the creative power (shakti) that is identified with the goddess Earth (who bears and protects the monument), three lotus flowers, and three tortoises (of stone, silver, and gold) that represent Earthearth, atmosphere, and heaven. The tortoise is a manifestation of Vishnu bearing the cosmic pillar; the lotus is the symbol of the expansion of generative possibilities. The vertical axis or tube (, coinciding with the cosmic pillar), which connects all parts of the building and is continued in the finial on the top, ; it corresponds with to the mystical vertical vein in the body of the worshiper through which his soul rises to unite itself with the Highest.

The designing of Hindu temples, like that of religious images, was codified in the ŚilpaShilpa-śāstras shastras (craft textbooks), and every aspect of the design was believed to be offer the symbolic representation of some feature of the cosmos. The idea of microcosmic symbolism is strong in Hinduism and comes from Vedic times; the Brāhmaṇa texts Brahmanas are replete with similar cosmic interpretations of the many features of the sacrifice. This same The Vedic idea of the correspondence (bandhu) between microcosm and macrocosm was applied to the medieval temple, which was laid out geometrically to mirror the structure of the universe, with its four geometric quarters and a celestial roof. The temple also represents the mountain at the navel of the world and often somewhat resembles a mountain. On the periphery were carved the most worldly and diverse scenesimages, including luxurious celebrations of human life: battle scenesbattles, hunts, circuses, animals, birds, as well as images of the and gods.

The erotic scenes carved at Khajurāho Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh and Konārak Konarak in Orissa express a general exuberance that may be an offering of thanksgiving to the gods who created all. However, that same swarming luxuriance of life in all of its aspects may also reflect the concern that one must set aside worldly temptations upon before entering the threshhold of the sacred space of the temple, for the carvings decorate only decorate the outside of the temple; at the centre, the sanctum sanctorum, there is little if any ornamentation, except for a stark symbol of the god or goddess. Thus, these carvings simultaneously express a celebration of samsara and a movement toward moksha.

Theatre and dance

Theatrical performances are also events that can be used to secure blessings and happiness; the element of recreation is indissolubly blended with edification and spiritual elevation. The structure and character of the classical Indian drama reveal its origin and function: it developed from the last part of a magico-religious ceremony, which survives as a ritual introduction, and begins and closes with benedictions. Drama is produced for festive occasions with a view to spiritual and religious success (siddhi), which must also be prompted by appropriate behaviour from the spectators; there must be a happy ending; the themes are borrowed from epic and legendary history; the development and unraveling of the plot are retarded; and the envy of malign influences is averted by the almost obligatory buffoon (vidūṣakavidusaka, “the spoiler”). There are also, in addition to films, which often use the same religious and mythic themes, yātrā yatras, a combination of stage play and various festivities that have contributed much to the spread of the Purāṇic Puranic view of life.


There are halls for sacred dances annexed to some temples because of this association with the divine. The rhythmic movement has a compelling force, generating and concentrating power or releasing superfluous energy. It induces the experience of the divine and transforms the dancer into whatever he or she impersonates. Thus, many tribal dances consist of symbolic enactments of events (harvest, battles) in the hope that they will be accomplished successfully. Musicians and dancing girls dancers accompany processions to expel the demons of cholera or cattle plague. Even today, religious themes and the various relations between humans and God are danced and made visual by the codified symbolic meanings of gestures and movements (see South Asian Arts: Dance and theatre).

The place of
Hinduism in and the world religionsbeyond
Hinduism and other religions of Indian origin

Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism originated

out of

in the same milieu: the circles of world


renouncers of the 6th century



Although all

All share certain non-Vedic practices (such as renunciation itself and various



they differ in the respect they accord to the Vedic tradition. Virtually all Hindus affirm the sacredness and authority of the Veda;

but Buddhists and Jains do not accept the authority of the Vedic tradition and therefore are regarded as less than orthodox by Hindus.

BuddhismAlthough Buddhism did not interfere with Hindu customs and usages, allowing its adherents to approach Hindu or local supernatural powers for immediate favours, Hindu criticism of Buddhism came mainly from Brahman philosophers who opposed its adherents because they rejected the authority of the Veda and the Brahmans and the doctrine of the atman (soul) and because they admitted persons of any age and caste to monastic life. The spread of Buddhism was often regarded as an indication of degeneration. In the course of time, the Buddha was recognized

From the 6th to the 11th century there was strong and sometimes bloody competition for royal patronage between the three communities—with Brahmans representing Hindu values—as well as between Vaishnavas and Shaivas. In general, the Brahman groups prevailed. In a typically absorptive gesture, Hindus in time recognized the Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu,

but this was often qualified by the addition

usually the ninth; it was often held, however, that Vishnu assumed this form to mislead and destroy the enemies of the Veda. Hence,

and this

the Buddha avatar is rarely

worshiped. Buddhist emblems also were often ascribed to Vishnu or Śiva. Some Buddhist shrines


notwithstanding their much neglected condition.

After the rise of Buddhological studies in the West and the archaeological discoveries and restorations beginning at the end of the 19th century had made Indians more aware of the Indian origin of Buddhism, the Republic of India adopted the Buddhist emperor Aśoka’s lion capital, marking the place of Buddha’s first teaching, as its national emblem. The Buddha jubilee in 1956 was an occasion for enthusiastic celebrations. The number of Indian Buddhists has again increased, due mainly to the conversion of persons of low social rank who hope for higher social status as Buddhists than they were afforded as Hindus.

JainismWith Jainism, which always



Hinduism has so much in common,

especially in social institutions and ritual life

, that nowadays Hindus tend to


Many Jains also are inclined to fraternization.

The points of


difference—e.g., a stricter practice of ahimsa



(see Buddhism; Buddha; Jainism).Hinduism and Islām

Because Islām was so different from Hinduism in creed and institutions, it was neither absorbed nor powerful enough to make India a Muslim country. The religious situation created by the presence of its numerous adherents always had explosive potentialities: Muslims do not respect bovine life and regard Hindu cult practices as objectionable idolatry. Although Indian Muslims, with few exceptions, are of native descent, they are theoretically outcastes with whom dealings must remain restricted by formal rules; however, as with Christians, they are less polluting than the Hindu lower castes. The Islāmic way of life meets with opposition, and orthodox Muslims and Hindus do not ordinarily intermarry or dine together. This situation has had acute and even devastating consequences, but it does vary somewhat from region to region, from village to village, and from class to class. Very often mutual differences are accepted. Although they repudiate caste, Muslims often observe it in practice, and some have even retained their original caste organization after their conversion to Islām.

Throughout centuries of close proximity and daily interaction, Hindus and Muslims have made


Hinduism and Islam

Hindu relations with Islam and Christianity are in some ways quite different from the ties and tensions that bind together religions of Indian origin. Hindus live with a legacy of domination by Muslim and Christian rulers that stretches back many centuries—in North India, to the Delhi Sultanate established at the beginning of the 13th century. It is hardly the case that Muslim rule was generally loathsome to Hindus. Direct and indirect patronage from the Mughal emperors Akbar and Jahāngīr (1569–1627), whose chief generals were Hindu Rajputs, laid the basis for the great burst of Krishnaite temple and institution building that transformed the Braj region beginning in the 16th century. Moreover, close proximity and daily interaction throughout the centuries has led to efforts to accommodate the existence of the

other religion within their own

two religions. One manifestation of such syncretism occurred among mystically inclined groups who believed that


one God, or

“the universal

the “universal principle,” was the same regardless of whether it was called Allah or brahman. Various syntheses between the two religions

, including Sikhism and other movements

that emphasize nonsectarianism


have arisen in

North India.

Those who, like Gandhi, could not understand the intolerance of orthodox Islām sympathized with the moderation and eclecticism of such groups. Most of the educated class, however, have always remained aware of the cleavage. To the Muslims—who, as part of an ecumenical community stretching over large parts of Asia and Africa, are concerned about the political and religious crisis of Islām since the late 19th century—the collapse of the Mughals after the Indian Mutiny (1857–58) was a severe blow that worsened relations with Hindus. This is particularly true because anti-Muslim tendencies had won ground since the renascent Hinduism of the Marāṭhā movement and in later times in the Arya Samaj (see above Hindu reform movements: Arya Samaj), while Muslims became self-assertive and even more determined to maintain their distinctive position. After the partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan—partly based on religious differences—and independence (1947), the political controversies between India and Pakistan constituted a further complication for relations between the religions.

Hinduism and ChristianityThe relations between Hinduism and Christianity have

northern India.

Yet there were periods when the political ambitions of Islamic rulers took strength from iconoclastic aspects of Muslim teaching and led to the devastation of many major Hindu temple complexes, from Mathura and Varanasi (Banaras) in the north to Chidambaram and Madurai in the far south; other temples were converted to mosques. Episodically, since the 14th century, this history has provided rhetorical fuel for Hindu warriors eager to assert themselves against Muslim rivals. The bloody partition of the South Asian subcontinent into India and Pakistan in 1947 added a new dimension. Mobilizing Hindu sensibilities about the sacredness of the land as a whole, extremists have sometimes depicted the creation of Pakistan as a rape of the body of India, in the process demonizing Muslims who remain within India’s political boundaries.

These strands converged at the end of the 20th century in a campaign to destroy the mosque built in 1528 by a lieutenant of the Mughal emperor Babur in Ayodhya, a city that has traditionally been identified as the place where Rama was born and ruled. In 1992 Hindu militants from all over India, who had been organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP; “World Hindu Council”), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS; “National Volunteer Alliance”), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; “Indian People’s Party”), destroyed the mosque in an effort to “liberate” Rama and establish a huge “Rama’s Birthplace Temple” on the spot. In the aftermath, several thousand people—mostly Muslims—were killed in riots that spread across North India.

Hinduism and Christianity




Christianity was widely introduced into the Indic subcontinent only in modern times by



protection of British

colonialism and imperialism

colonial rule. Their denigration of

Hindu beliefs and practices—such as

selected features of Hindu practice—most notably image worship

and widow burning—provoked a Hindu response



into the


21st, a movement that might be called neo-




acted as an agent of social reform,


and championed dialogue between other

world religions.The relations between Hindus and Christians, then, have been complicated.

religious communities.



known), but reject the theological superstructure.

Many adherents of bhakti movements—the Christian influence on which has been grossly exaggerated—feel that the Christian conceptions, which are regarded


, do not realize in God the multiplicity of human relations of love and service. Educated Hindus, though assimilating some Christian ideas, often regard missionary propaganda as an attack on their national genius and time-honoured institutions and take offense at what they regard as the disrespectful utterances of Christian missionary literature. They are averse to the


Islām and


. Since independence, conversion has indeed been viewed with disfavour by many influential Indians, who often also find


Movements that advocate a Hindu theism designed to rival Islām and Christianity, like the Arya Samaj, make serious efforts to reconvert Christians to the Hindu community. People tolerate the proximity of Christian converts, even if they transgress Hindu taboos, provided they form a more or less separate community. Thus Christians often form castes or endogamous bodies analogous to castes. They sometimes are even admitted to temples to which untouchable Hindus have no entrance. In Malabar, due to their high economic position, Christians came to be practically equal with Brahmans. Nationalism has challenged the more serious-minded Indian Christians to express the genius of their faith in Indian modes and patterns. This has led, since 1921, to the emergence of Christian ashrams in the south. The dialogue between Hinduism and Christianity is more or less institutionalized at Bangalore in Karnātaka state, where the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society is located. Its bulletin offers an opportunity for discussion between, for example, Christians and supporters of the Ramakrishna Mission.
Among the many overviews of Hinduism are Thomas J. Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition (1971

Such sentiments took an unusually extreme form at the end of the 20th century, when Hindu activists attacked Dalit Christians and their churches in various parts of India, especially Orissa and Gujarat. A far more typical sentiment is expressed in the eagerness of Hindus of all social stations, especially the middle class, to send their children to high-quality (often English-language) schools established and maintained by Christian organizations. No great fear exists that the religious element in the curriculum will cause Hindu children to abandon their parents’ faith.

Diasporic Hinduism




Pacific and ecumenical as this sounds, members of such temples are also important contributors to the VHP, whose efforts since 1964 to find common ground among disparate Hindu groups have sometimes also contributed to displays of Hindu nationalism such as were seen at Ayodhya in 1992. As the 21st century opened, there was a vivid struggle between “left” and “right” within the Hindu fold, with diasporic groups playing a more important role than ever before. Because of their wealth and education, because globalizing processes lend them prestige and enable them to communicate constantly with Hindus living in South Asia, and because their experience as minorities tends to set them apart from their families in India itself, their contribution to the evolution of Hinduism has been a very interesting one.


General works


R.C. Zaehner, Hinduism, (1962, reissued 1977); and Louis Renou, Religions of Ancient India (1953, reissued 1972). An excellent survey of all aspects of pre-Muslim ancient India is A.L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India, 3rd rev. ed. (1967, reprinted 1985). More detailed and technical accounts may be found in Jan Gonda, Die Religionen Indiens, 2 vol. (1960–63); and in R.C. Majumdar (ed.), The History and Culture of the Indian People, 11 vol. (1951–69). A basic resource for the study of Hinduism is the series “The History of Indian Literature,” including the volumes by


; and by Teun Goudriaan and Sanjukta Gupta, Hindu Tantric and Śākta Literature (1981)


A detailed outline is also provided by J.N. Farquhar, An Outline of the Religious Literature of India (1920, reprinted 1967).


; and D.D. Kosambi, The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline (1965, reissued 1970; U.S. title, Ancient India: A History of Its Culture and Civilization, 1966, reissued 1969).For the original


Sacred texts

Original sources of the principal texts of Hinduism in English translation

, convenient collections include Ainslie T. Embree (ed.), The Hindu Tradition (1966, reissued 1972); Wendy Doniger O’flaherty


Ainslie T. Embree


Stephen N. Hay (eds.), Sources of Indian Tradition, 2nd ed., 2 vol. (1988); and



A useful compendium of Hindu mythology in translation


is Wendy Doniger



; and Cornelia Dimmitt and J


A.B. Van Buitenen (eds. and trans.), Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Purāṇas (1978).



Sacred Books of the



G. Bühler (trans.), The Laws of Manu (1886, reprinted 1971), with extracts from seven commentaries;


See also

Also of interest are Wendy Doniger

O’flaherty (


Robert Ernest Hume

Patrick Olivelle (trans.),

The Thirteen Principal


, 2nd ed. rev. (1931, reissued 1983), remains the best translation. R.C. Zaehner


Gītā: With a Commentary Based on the Original Sources (1969, reprinted 1973), is one of the best translations of this text


Pratap Chandra Roy (trans.), The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, 12 vol. (1883–96, reprinted 1981–82);




; and Robert P


Goldman (trans.), The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India (1984– ), with 2 vol. published by 1988.

Translations of several


Puranas are available in

J.L. Shastri, Ancient Indian Tradition & Mythology (1970– ), with 35 vol. published by 1987; and in




Ramcaritmanas of

Tulasī Dās; Ch. Vaudeville (trans.), Kabir, vol. 1 (1974);


, reissued 1986


; and David Dean Shulman, Tamil Temple Myths: Sacrifice and Divine Marriage in the South Indian Saiva Tradition (1980), and The King and the Clown in South Indian Myth and Poetry (1985).


Early history and religion


See also Brenda E.F. Beck et al. (eds.), Folktales of India (1987); and Stuart H. Blackburn and A.K. Ramanujan (eds.), Another Harmony: New Essays on the Folklore of India (1986).For the prehistoric period and the Indus Valley civilization, see Walter A. Fairservis, Jr., The Roots of Ancient India, 2nd ed. rev. (1975); Stuart Piggott, Prehistoric India to 1000 B.C. (1950, reissued 1962); Mortimer Wheeler, The Indus Civilization, 3rd ed. (1968); and John Marshall,



see also


: The

, the Vedic Ritual of the Fire


Altar, 2


vol. (1983).

The classic work on the Vedic sacrifice is Sylvain Lévi, La Doctrine du sacrifice dans les Brâhmanas (1898, reissued 1966). Still useful are Arthur Berriedale Keith, The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads, 2 vol. (1925, reprinted 1971); and


Works on the relations between Vedic religion and later Hinduism are Jan Gonda, Change and Continuity in Indian Religion (1965); Madeleine Biardeau and Charles Malamoud, Sacrifice dans l’Inde ancienne (1976); and


Dharma and karma






; also consult Jean Varenne, Yoga and the Hindu Tradition (1976; originally published in French, 1973)




Charles F. Keyes and E. Valentine Daniel (eds.), Karma: An Anthropological Inquiry (1983), is also useful.


of recent years


Art and architecture




; see also George Michell, The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms (1977). The practice of pilgrimage in general, and specifically pilgrimage to the holy city of Vārānasi, is treated in Diana L. Eck, Banaras: City of Light (1982).For an overview of the sects worshiping


Deities and their sects

An overview of the sects worshipping Vishnu or one of his forms

, see Jan Gonda, Aspects of Early Viṣṇuism (1954, reissued 1969);




For an

An excellent study on Krishna

, see For the history of Śaivism, see


Sushil Kumar De, Early History of the Vaiṣṇava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources, 2nd ed. (1961), is a historical approach.


; and V


S. Pathak, History of Śaiva Cults in Northern India, from Inscriptions 700 A.D. to 1200 A.D. (1960, reissued 1980).

The mythology of


Shiva is discussed in Wendy Doniger



; and in Stella Kramrisch, The Presence of Śiva (1981)


The best overviews of Tantrism are Agehananda Bharati, The Tantric Tradition (1965, reprinted 1977); and Edward C. Dimock, Jr., The Place of the Hidden Moon: Erotic Mysticism in the Vaiṣṇavasahajiyā Cult of Bengal (1966).


, reprinted 1986). See also Thomas B. Coburn, Devī Māhātmya: The Crystalization of the Goddess Tradition (1984); Cheever Mackenzie Brown, God as Mother: A Feminine Theology in India: An Historical and Theological Study of the Brahmavaivarta Purāna (1974



O’Flaherty, Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts (1980

, reprinted 1982


, reprinted 1977).Emphasizing the anthropology of “popular” Hinduism are the works by Lawrence A. Babb, The Divine Hierarchy: Popular Hinduism in Central India (1975); McKim Marriott (ed.), Village India: Studies in the Little Community (1955, reprinted 1986); Milton Singer (ed.), Traditional India: Structure and Change (1958, reissued 1976), and When a Great Tradition Modernizes: An Anthropological Approach to Indian Civilization (1972, reprinted 1980); and C.G. Diehl, Instrument and Purpose (1956). A classic case history of the process known as Sanskritization is M.N. Srinivas, Religion and Society Among the Coorgs of South India (1952, reissued 1978). For a psychoanalytic approach to Hinduism, consult G. Morris Carstairs, The Twice-Born: A Study of a Community of High-Caste Hindus (1957, reissued 1967); and Sudhir Kakar, The Inner World: A Psycho-Analytic Study of Childhood and Society in India, 2nd ed. rev. and enl. (1981, reprinted 1982), and Shamans, Mystics and Doctors: A Psychological Inquiry into India and Its Healing Traditions (1982, reissued 1984


Religious and philosophical traditions





compiler), Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies (1977– )

, with 4 vol. published by 1987. For an analysis of one of these traditions, see John Braisted Carman, The Theology of Rāmānuja: An Essay in Interreligious Understanding (1974).


Practical Hinduism



Hinduism and other traditions

Developments in the Hindu tradition as it confronted

