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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.
The Brahmanism of the Dharmaśāstra and the smritis underwent a radical transformation at the hands of the Purana composers, resulting in the rise of Puranic Hinduism, [35] "which like a colossus striding across the religious firmanent soon came to overshadow all existing religions". [181] Puranic Hinduism was a "multiplex belief-system which ...
Hindu beliefs are vast and diverse, and thus Hinduism is often referred to as a family of religions rather than a single religion. [ web 9 ] Within each religion in this family of religions, there are different theologies, practices, and sacred texts.
The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedicism or Vedism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, [a] constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontinent (Punjab and the western Ganges plain) during the Vedic period (c. 1500–500 BCE).
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", [238] [note 24] and "most Indians today pay lip service to the Veda and have no regard for the contents of the text."
Hinduism (/ ˈ h ɪ n d u ˌ ɪ z əm /) is an umbrella term for a range of Indian religious and spiritual traditions (sampradayas) [1] that are unified by adherence to the concept of dharma, a cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, as first expounded in the Vedas.
[120] [121] The term Hindu, in contemporary parlance, includes people who accept themselves as culturally or ethnically Hindu rather than with a fixed set of religious beliefs within Hinduism. [64] One need not be religious in the minimal sense, states Julius Lipner, to be accepted as Hindu by Hindus, or to describe oneself as Hindu. [122]
Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism , Hinduism , Jainism , and Sikhism , [ web 1 ] [ note 1 ] are also classified as Eastern religions .