Hinduism

Hinduism (Sanātana Dharma, "the eternal way") is the world's oldest major living religion and the third-largest by adherents (about 1.2 billion), concentrated in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Indian-Caribbean diaspora, and a growing global population. It is not a unified creed but a vast family of traditions sharing scriptures, deities, philosophical categories and ritual idioms accumulated over more than three millennia.

Founder and history

Unlike Islam, Christianity or Buddhism, Hinduism has no single founder and no single date of origin. Its earliest stratum is the Vedic religion of the Indo-Aryan migrants into the Indian subcontinent (c. 1500–500 BCE). Major historical phases:

Phase	Approx. dates	Features
Vedic	1500–500 BCE	Ritual sacrifice; Vedic gods (Indra, Agni, Soma)
Upanishadic	800–200 BCE	Inner-meditative turn; Brahman-Atman doctrine
Epic & Puranic	400 BCE – 500 CE	Ramayana, Mahabharata; rise of Vishnu, Shiva, Devi
Classical Vedanta	8th–13th c. CE	Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva
Bhakti movement	7th–17th c. CE	Devotional poets across India
Modern reformist	19th–20th c. CE	Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission

Scriptures

Hindu scriptures are divided into two great classes:

Shruti ("that which is heard")

Treated as eternal revelation:

• Four Vedas: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda — hymns, ritual instructions, and chants (c. 1500–1000 BCE for the Rigveda).
• Brahmanas — ritual commentaries.
• Aranyakas — "forest texts".
• Upanishads — philosophical dialogues; the principal twelve (Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Katha, Isha, Kena, Mundaka, Mandukya etc.) are foundational to Vedanta.

Smriti ("that which is remembered")

Human-authored but authoritative:

• Itihasa — the two great epics: Ramayana of Valmiki (~24,000 verses) and Mahabharata of Vyasa (~100,000 verses, including the Bhagavad Gita, 700 verses).
• Puranas — 18 Mahapuranas recounting cosmology and mythology of Vishnu, Shiva and Devi.
• Dharmashastras — including the Manusmriti (Laws of Manu) on social and ritual law.
• Agamas and Tantras — temple-ritual texts of Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakta traditions.

"yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati Bhārata..." "Whenever dharma declines, O Bharata, I shall manifest myself." — Bhagavad Gita 4.7.

Core doctrines

Hindu theology is best summarised by six interlocking concepts:

1. Brahman — the impersonal absolute reality, sat-chit-ananda (being-consciousness-bliss).
2. Atman — the innermost self of a person, identical with Brahman in Advaita Vedanta.
3. Karma — the moral law of action and consequence.
4. Samsara — the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
5. Dharma — moral and cosmic order; one's duty.
6. Moksha — liberation from samsara, the supreme goal (purushartha).

The four purusharthas (legitimate human ends) are dharma (duty), artha (prosperity), kama (pleasure), and moksha (liberation).

The six classical schools (darshanas)

Classical Hindu philosophy is organised in six orthodox systems (āstika darshanas) accepting Vedic authority:

Darshana	Founder/Text	Concern
Nyaya	Gautama (Nyaya Sutras)	Logic, epistemology
Vaisheshika	Kanada	Atomistic metaphysics
Samkhya	Kapila	Dualism: purusha and prakriti
Yoga	Patanjali (Yoga Sutras, c. 200 BCE)	Eight-limbed meditative path
Mimamsa	Jaimini	Vedic ritual exegesis
Vedanta	Brahma Sutras of Badarayana	Upanishadic theology

The three classical Vedanta sub-schools:

• Advaita ("non-dualism") of Adi Shankara (788–820 CE) — Brahman alone is real; the world is maya.
• Vishishtadvaita ("qualified non-dualism") of Ramanuja (1017–1137) — Brahman with internal differentiation.
• Dvaita ("dualism") of Madhva (1238–1317) — Brahman and atman as eternally distinct.

Major sects

1. Vaishnavism — worship of Vishnu and his avatars, especially Rama and Krishna.
2. Shaivism — worship of Shiva.
3. Shaktism — worship of the Divine Mother (Devi, Durga, Kali).
4. Smarta — worship of five deities; associated with Shankara.
5. Lingayata / Veerashaiva — 12th-c. South-Indian Shaiva reform.

Festivals

Festival	Deity / Occasion	Time
Diwali	Lakshmi; return of Rama	October–November
Holi	Spring; Krishna	March
Navratri / Durga Puja	Nine nights of Devi	September–October
Janmashtami	Krishna's birth	August–September
Mahashivratri	Shiva	February–March
Kumbh Mela	Bathing pilgrimage, four sites every 12 years	varies

The bhakti movement

From the seventh century onward, vernacular devotional poets reshaped popular Hinduism:

• South India: Alvars (Vaishnava) and Nayanars (Shaiva), 6th–9th c.
• Maharashtra: Jnaneshwar (1275–1296), Tukaram (1608–1649).
• North India: Kabir (1440–1518), Mirabai (1498–1547), Surdas, Tulsidas (1532–1623, author of Ramcharitmanas).
• Bengal: Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534).

Modern Hinduism

Nineteenth- and twentieth-century reformers reshaped the tradition:

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772–1833) — Brahmo Samaj (1828); critic of sati.
• Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824–1883) — Arya Samaj (1875); "Back to the Vedas".
• Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) — Ramakrishna Mission (1897); Chicago 1893 address.
• Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) — ahimsa and the reframing of Hindu ethics for political life.
• S. Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) — philosopher of Advaita; President of India.

Contemporary status

Hinduism is the majority religion of India (about 80%), Nepal (~80%), and Mauritius; large minorities exist in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan (~1.85%, mostly in Sindh and southern Punjab), Bali (Indonesia), Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad, the United Kingdom and North America. Issues of caste, women's rights, and the politics of Hindutva are central modern debates.

Conclusion

Hinduism is less a single religion than a family of traditions of remarkable internal pluralism. It has nevertheless cohered around the Vedic-Upanishadic textual stratum, the doctrines of karma and moksha, and the sectarian devotion to Vishnu, Shiva and Devi — producing one of the world's longest unbroken religious civilisations.