Hinduism is an umbrella term for a range of Indian religious and spiritual traditions (sampradayas) 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. The word Hindu is an exonym,and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world,it has also been described by the modern term Sanātana Dharma emphasizing its eternal nature. Another endonym for Hinduism is Vaidika Dharma.
Hindu mythology is the body of myths attributed to,and espoused by,the adherents of the Hindu religion,found in Hindu texts such as the Vedas,the itihasa the Puranas,and mythological stories specific to a particular ethnolinguistic group like the Tamil Periya Puranam and Divya Prabandham,and the Mangal Kavya of Bengal. Hindu myths are also found in widely translated popular texts such as the fables of the Panchatantra and the Hitopadesha,as well as in Southeast Asian texts.
Asuras are a class of beings in Indian religions. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context,the word is translated as "titan" or "antigod".
Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. Deities in Hinduism are as diverse as its traditions,and a Hindu can choose to be polytheistic,pantheistic,monotheistic,monistic,even agnostic,atheistic,or humanist. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary,and include Deva,Devi,Ishvara,Ishvari,Bhagavān and Bhagavati.
In the Vedic tradition,soma is a ritual drink of importance among the early Vedic Indo-Aryans. The Rigveda mentions it,particularly in the Soma Mandala. Gita mentions the drink in chapter 9. It is equivalent to the Iranian haoma.
Prajapati is a Vedic deity of Hinduism and he is a form of Brahma,the creator god.
The historical Vedic religion,also called Vedicism or Vedism,and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism,constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontinent during the Vedic period. These ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts,and some Vedic rituals are still practiced today. The Vedic religion is one of the major traditions which shaped modern Hinduism,though present-day Hinduism is significantly different from the historical Vedic religion.
Shastra is a Sanskrit word that means "precept,rules,manual,compendium,book or treatise" in a general sense. The word is generally used as a suffix in the Indian literature context,for technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice.
Hindu texts or Hindu scriptures are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. Some of the major Hindu texts include the Vedas,the Upanishads,and the Itihasa. Scholars hesitate in defining the term "Hindu scriptures" given the diverse nature of Hinduism,but many list the Agamas as Hindu scriptures,and Dominic Goodall includes Bhagavata Purana and Yajnavalkya Smriti in the list of Hindu scriptures as well.
Deva means 'shiny','exalted','heavenly being','divine being','anything of excellence',and is also one of the Sanskrit terms used to indicate a deity in Hinduism. Deva is a masculine term;the feminine equivalent is Devi. The word is a cognate with Latin deus ('god') and Greek Zeus.
Prayer is considered to be an integral part of the Hindu religion;it is practiced during Hindu worship (puja) and is an expression of devotion (Bhakti). The chanting of mantras is the most popular form of worship in Hinduism. The Vedas are liturgical texts. Stuti is an umbrella term for religious literary creations,but it literally means "praise."
Karma yoga,also called Karma marga,is one of the three classical spiritual paths mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita,one based on the "yoga of action",the others being Jnana yoga and Bhakti yoga. To a karma yogi,right action is a form of prayer. The paths are not mutually exclusive in Hinduism,but the relative emphasis between Karma yoga,Jnana yoga and Bhakti yoga varies by the individual.
Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty is an American Indologist whose professional career has spanned five decades. A scholar of Sanskrit and Indian textual traditions,her major works include The Hindus:An Alternative History;Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of Siva;Hindu Myths:A Sourcebook;The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology;Women,Androgynes,and Other Mythical Beasts;and The Rig Veda:An Anthology,108 Hymns Translated from the Sanskrit. She is the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of History of Religions at the University of Chicago,and has taught there since 1978. She served as president of the Association for Asian Studies in 1998.
The Vedas,sometimes collectively called the Veda,are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit,the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.
Michael Witzel is a German-American philologist,comparative mythologist and Indologist. Witzel is the Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University and the editor of the Harvard Oriental Series. He has significantly researched a number of Indian sacred texts,particularly the Vedas.
Edwin Francis Bryant is an American Indologist. As of 2024,he is professor of religions of India at Rutgers University. He has published seven books and authored a number of articles on Vedic history,yoga,and the Krishna tradition. In his research engagements,he lived several years in India where he studied Sanskrit and was trained with several Indian pundits.
The following list consists of notable concepts that are derived from Hindu culture and associated cultures’traditions,which are expressed as words in Sanskrit or other Indic languages and Dravidian languages. The main purpose of this list is to disambiguate multiple spellings,to make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts,to define the concept in one or two lines,to make it easy for one to find and pin down specific concepts,and to provide a guide to unique concepts of Hinduism all in one place.
Dhyāna in Hinduism means meditation and contemplation. Dhyana is taken up in Yoga practices,and is a means to samadhi and self-knowledge.
The Bhagavad Gita,often referred to as the Gita,is a Hindu scripture,dated to the second or first century BCE,which forms part of the epic Mahabharata. It is a synthesis of various strands of Indian religious thought,including the Vedic concept of dharma;samkhya-based yoga and jnana (knowledge);and bhakti (devotion). It holds a unique pan-Hindu influence as the most prominent sacred text and is a central text in Vedanta and the Vaishnava Hindu tradition.
