Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The history of Hinduism covers a wide variety of related religious traditions native to the Indian subcontinent. [1] It overlaps or coincides with the development of religion in the Indian subcontinent since the Iron Age, with some of its traditions tracing back to prehistoric religions such as those of the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation.
The Bhagavad Gita (/ ˈ b ʌ ɡ ə v ə d ˈ ɡ iː t ɑː /; [1] Sanskrit: भगवद्गीता, IPA: [ˌbʱɐɡɐʋɐd ˈɡiːtɑː], romanized: bhagavad-gītā, lit. 'God's song'), [a] often referred to as the Gita (IAST: gītā), is a Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, [7] which forms part of the epic Mahabharata.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Hinduism: Hinduism – predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. [1] Its followers are called Hindus, who refer to it as Sanātana Dharma [2] (Sanskrit: सनातनधर्मः, lit.
Main page; Contents; Current events; Random article; About Wikipedia; Contact us; Pages for logged out editors learn more
Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. There are four Vedas, and these constitute the Hindu canon (but they are largely religious scriptures, some telling it to be God's words). Each Veda has four subdivisions – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions ...
In Indian historian DN Jha's essay "Looking for a Hindu identity", he writes: "No Indians described themselves as Hindus before the fourteenth century" and that "The British borrowed the word 'Hindu' from India, gave it a new meaning and significance, [and] reimported it into India as a reified phenomenon called Hinduism."
Hinduism (/ ˈ h ɪ n d u ˌ ɪ z əm /) [1] is an umbrella term [2] [3] [a] for a range of Indian religious and spiritual traditions (sampradayas) [4] [note 1] that are unified by adherence to the concept of dharma, a cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, [5] [6] [7] [b] as first expounded in the Vedas.
Hindu studies is the study of the traditions and practices of the Indian subcontinent (especially Hinduism), and considered as a subfield of Indology.Beginning with British philology in the colonial period, Hindu studies has been practiced largely by Westerners, due in part to the lack of a distinct department for religion in Indian academia. [1]