The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Hinduism:

Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

– predominant and indigenous religious tradition

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 of the Indian Subcontinent

Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...

. Hinduism is known to its followers as (a Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 phrase meaning "the eternal law

Dharma

Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

 that sustains/upholds/surely preserves"), amongst many other expressions. Hinduism has no single founder, and is formed of diverse traditions, including a wide spectrum of laws and prescriptions of "daily morality" based on the notion of karma, dharma, and societal norms. Among its direct roots is the historical Vedic religion

Historical Vedic religion

The religion of the Vedic period is a historical predecessor of Hinduism. Its liturgy is reflected in the mantra portion of the four Vedas, which are compiled in Sanskrit. The religious practices centered on a clergy administering rites...

 of Iron Age India

Iron Age India

Iron Age India, the Iron Age in the Indian subcontinent, succeeds the Late Harappan culture, also known as the last phase of the Indus Valley Tradition...

 and, as such, Hinduism is often called the "oldest living religion" or the "oldest living major religion" in the world.

Essence of Hinduism

Main article: Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

• Hindu
  Hindu
  Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
  
  
• Hindu deities
  Hindu deities
  Within Hinduism a large number of personal gods are worshipped as murtis. These beings are either aspects of the supreme Brahman, Avatars of the supreme being, or significantly powerful entities known as devas. The exact nature of belief in regards to each deity varies between differing Hindu...
  
  
• Hindu philosophy
  Hindu philosophy
  Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...
  
  

Vaishnavism

Vaishnavism

Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....

• Vishnu
  Vishnu
  Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
  
  
• Dashavatara
• Ramanuja
  Ramanuja
  Ramanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...
  
  
• Madhvacharya
  Madhvacharya
  Madhvācārya was the chief proponent of Tattvavāda "Philosophy of Reality", popularly known as the Dvaita school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedānta philosophies. Madhvācārya was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in...
  
  
• Vishnu sahasranama
  Vishnu sahasranama
  The Vishnu sahasranama is a list of 1,000 names of Vishnu, one of the main forms of God in Hinduism and the personal supreme God for Vaishnavas . It is also one of the most sacred and commonly chanted stotras in Hinduism...
  
  

Ayyavazhi

Ayyavazhi

Ayyavazhi is a dharmic belief system that originated in South India in the 19th century. It is cited as an independent monistic religion by several newspapers, government reports and academic researchers. In Indian censuses, however, the majority of its followers declare themselves as Hindus...

• Ayya Vaikundar
  Ayya Vaikundar
  Ayya Vaikundar , according to Akilattirattu Ammanai , a scripture of the Ayyavazhi, was a Manu Avatar of Narayana, incarnated as Muthukutty or Mudisoodum Perumal, a Nadar of Swamithoppe, Tamil Nadu Ayya Vaikundar , according to Akilattirattu Ammanai (or Akilam), a scripture of the Ayyavazhi, was...
  
  
• Ekam
  Ekam
  Ekam Tamil: - "the supreme oneness") is the term used in Akilathirattu Ammanai, the holy book of Ayyavazhi, to represent The Ultimate Oneness. In Thiruvasakam-2 it was stated that it was from this Ekam that all objects, including the separate Godheads, Devas and asuras, of the universe formed...
  
  
• Ayyavazhi theology
  Ayyavazhi theology
  Ayyavazhi theology is the theology of a South Indian religious faith and officially a sect of Hinduism known as Ayyavazhi. Several fundamental theological beliefs distinguish the Ayyavazhi tradition from Hinduism....
  
  
• Neetham
  Neetham
  Neetham are the primary virtues to be followed according to the Akilam the holy text of Ayyavazhi. They are found in Akilam one, which is the first section of the Akilattirattu Ammanai, and in the middle of the meta-narrative events of the eight yugas...
  
  
• Akilattirattu Ammanai
  Akilattirattu Ammanai
  Akilathirattu Ammanai , also called Thiru Edu , is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi...
  
  

History of Hinduism

Main article: History of Hinduism

History of Hinduism

Hinduism is a term for a wide variety of related religious traditions native to India. Historically, it encompasses the development of Religion in India since the Iron Age traditions, which in turn hark back to prehistoric religions such as that of the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization followed...

• History of India
  History of India
  The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...
  
  
• Early Hinduism
• Hindu kingdoms in West Asia

General Hinduism concepts

• Hinduism and other religions
  Hinduism and other religions
  In the field of comparative religion, some have sought to discover similarities between Hinduism and other religions.Hinduism has a history of co-existence with Buddhism and Jainism , and more recently, with Sikhism, within the Indian subcontinent...
  
  
• Hindu mythology
  Hindu mythology
  Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
  
  
• Agama Hindu Dharma
• Balinese Hinduism
• Hinduism in Southeast Asia
  Hinduism in Southeast Asia
  Hinduism in Southeast Asia gave birth to the former Champa civilization in southern parts of Central Vietnam, Funan in Cambodia, the Khmer Empire in Indochina, Langkasuka Kingdom, Gangga Negara and Old Kedah in the Malay Peninsular, the Srivijayan kingdom on Sumatra, the Singhasari kingdom and the...
  
  
• World Hinduism
• Vedanta
  Vedanta
  Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...
  
  
• Bhakti
  Bhakti
  In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
  
  
• Contemporary Hindu movements
• Hindu temple
  Hindu temple
  A Mandir, Devalayam, Devasthanam, or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism...
  
  s
• Hindu wedding
  Hindu wedding
  Hindu wedding is thought to be the bringing of two people who are said to be compatible. Hindu wedding ceremonies are traditionally conducted at least partially in Sanskrit, the language of most holy Hindu ceremonies. The local language of the people involved is also used since most Hindus do not...
  
  
• Hindu temple architecture
  Hindu temple architecture
  India's temple architecture developed from the sthapathis' and shilpis' creativit, but n general these are from the Vishwakarma . A small Hindu temple consists of an inner sanctum, the garbha griha or womb-chamber, in which the image is housed, often circumambulation, a congregation hall, and...
  
  
• Sanskrit
  Sanskrit
  Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
  
  
• Guru-shishya tradition
  Guru-shishya tradition
  The guru-shishya tradition, lineage, or parampara, denotes a succession of teachers and disciples in traditional Indian culture and religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism. It is the tradition of spiritual relationship and mentoring where teachings are transmitted from a guru...
  
  
• Diet In Hinduism
• Bali Sacrifice

Science, medicine, and cosmology

• Vedic science
  Vedic science
  Vedic science may refer to a number of disciplines: ancient and modern, scientific and unscientific, religious, metaphysical, Hindu, occultist, New Age, proto-scientific, or pseudoscientific found in or based on the Vedas.Vedic period...
  
  
• Hindu cosmology
  Hindu cosmology
  In Hindu cosmology the universe is, according to Hindu mythology and Vedic cosmology, cyclically created and destroyed.-Description:The Hindu cosmology and timeline is the closest to modern scientific timelines and even more which might indicate that the Big Bang is not the beginning of everything...
  
  
• Indian science and technology
• Bandhu
  Bandhu
  Bandhu, Sanskrit for relation or binding, are the connections that, according to the Vedas link the outer and the inner worlds. Vedic texts speak, for example, of the 360 bones of the fetus that fuse into the 206 bones of the adult...
  
  
• Ayurveda
  Ayurveda
  Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...
  
  

Hindu philosophy

Hindu philosophy

Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...

• Yoga
  Yoga
  Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
  
  
  • Jnana Yoga
    Jnana yoga
    Jyâna yoga or "path of knowledge" is one of the types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies...
    
    
  • Raja Yoga
    Raja Yoga
    Rāja Yoga is concerned principally with the cultivation of the mind using meditation to further one's acquaintance with reality and finally achieve liberation.Raja yoga was first described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and is part of the Samkhya tradition.In the context of Hindu...
    
    
  • Bhakti Yoga
    Bhakti yoga
    Bhakti yoga is one of the types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies which denotes the spiritual practice of fostering loving devotion to a personal form of God....
    
    
  • Karma Yoga
    Karma Yoga
    Karma yoga , or the "discipline of action" is a form of yoga based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism. Of the four paths to realization, karma yoga is the science of achieving perfection in action...
    
    
• Tantra
  Tantra
  Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
  
  
• Vedanta
  Vedanta
  Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...
  
  
  • Advaita
    • Creation theories
      • Ajativada
        Ajativada
        The Sanskrit term Ajativada can be translated as "non-creation". Ajativada is one of several alternately-held creation theories in Advaita Vedanta philosophy. According to Advaita Vedanta, the world of appearances is considered an illusion, and not to "exist". The idea that the illusory world was...
        
        
    • List of teachers of Advaita Vedanta
  • Advaitin philosophers
    • • Adi Shankara
        Adi Shankara
        Adi Shankara Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (IAST: pronounced , (Sanskrit: , ) (788 CE - 820 CE), also known as ' and ' was an Indian philosopher from Kalady of present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta...
        
        
        • Works of Adi Shankara
          Works of Adi Shankara
          Adi Shankara, a Hindu philosopher of the Advaita Vedanta school, wrote many works in his life-time of thirty two years; however, many works thought to be of his authorship are debated and questioned as to their authorship today. His works deal with logically establishing the doctrine of Advaita...
          
          
    • Monastic traditions
      • Dashanami Sampradaya
        Dashanami Sampradaya
        Dashanami Sampradaya is a Hindu monastic tradition of Ekadandisannyasins [1][5][7] generally associated with the Advaita Vedanta tradition...
        
        
    • Advaita maţhas
      • Sringeri Sharada Peetham
        Sringeri Sharada Peetham
        Sringeri Sharada Peetham is the southern Advaita Vedanta matha. It is located in Shringeri. It is claimed that it is the first of the four original mathas established by Adi Shankara.-Location:...
        
        
  • Vishishtadvaita
    Vishishtadvaita
    Vishishtadvaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy, the other major sub-schools of Vedānta being Advaita, Dvaita, and Achintya-Bheda-Abheda. VishishtAdvaita is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy...
    
    
  • Dvaita
    Dvaita
    Dvaita is a school of Vedanta founded by Shri Madhvacharya....
    
    

Hindu texts

• Hindu Literature
• Hindu scriptures
• Vedas
  Vedas
  The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
  
  
  • Rig Veda
  • Yajur Veda
  • Sama Veda
  • Atharva Veda
• Hindu Epics
  • Ramayana
    Ramayana
    The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
    
    
  • Mahabharata
    Mahabharata
    The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
    
    
  • Puranas
    Puranas
    The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
    
    
• Upanishads
• Akilattirattu Ammanai
  Akilattirattu Ammanai
  Akilathirattu Ammanai , also called Thiru Edu , is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi...
  
  
• Shri Rudram Chamakam
  Shri Rudram Chamakam
  Sri Rudram , to which the Chamakam is added by scriptural tradition, is a Hindu stotra dedicated to Rudra , taken from the Yajurveda . Shri Rudram is also known as Sri Rudraprasna, , and Rudradhyaya. The text is important in Vedanta where Shiva is equated to the Universal Brahman...
  
  

Worship

• Puja
• Agnikaryam
  Agnikaryam
  Agnikaryam is the Yajna performed in a loukika agni by brahmacharis . The Agnikarya is performed with the help of Samits or small wooden sticks or twigs usually of Arali tree. This homa is performed daily twice: once in the morning and again in the evening...
  
  
• Charu
  Charu
  Charu is a sweet porridge-like foodstuff offered as ahuti in Yajnas.The word also means one who is soft and graceful and is often used in the Ramayana for praising Lord Ram. The word Charu is also used in a popular poem to describe the beauty of the moon-Charu chandra ki chanchal kirne khel rahi...
  
  
• Kaamya karma
  Kaamya karma
  Kaamya karmas refer to those Karmas in Hinduism which are performed with a specific objective in view. Unlike Nitya karmas, these rituals are not required by the Shastras to be performed on a daily or regular basis, but these may be performed only for acquiring some desire. A few kaamya-karmas are...
  
  
• Arati
• Japa
  Japa
  Japa is a spiritual discipline involving the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of a divine power. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be spoken purely within the recitor's mind...
  
  
• Kirtana
• Nitya karma
  Nitya karma
  Nitya karma refers to those karmas which have to be performed daily by Hindus. The Hindu Shastras say that not performing nitya karmas leads to sin. The nitya karmas include:*Snana *Sandhyavandanam*Devataarchanam...
  
  
• Putrakameshti
  Putrakameshti
  Putrakameshti is a special Yajna performed in Hinduism for the sake of having a child. It is a kaamya-karma.In the Ramayana, upon the recommendation of Sage Vashishta, King Dasharatha of Ayodhya performed the Putrakameshti Yajna under the supervision of Rishishringa Muni, who was an expert in...
  
  
• Samavartana
• Sandhyavandanam
  Sandhyavandanam
  Sandhyavandanam is a religious practice performed by Hindu men initiated into the rite by the ceremony of Upanayanam, and instructed in its execution by a Guru . Sandhyavandanam consists of excerpts from the Great Vedas that are to be recited thrice daily...
  
  
• Yajna
  Yajna
  In Hinduism, yajna is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes...
  
  

People

• Ambika
  Parvati
  Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
  
  
• Asvin
• Atikay
• Bhrigus
  Bhrigus
  Maharishi Bhrigu was one of the seven great sages, the Saptarshis, in ancient India, one of the many Prajapatis created by Brahma , the first compiler of predictive astrology, and also the author of Bhrigu Samhita, the astrological classic written during the Vedic period, Treta yuga.Bhrigu is a...
  
  
• Narada
  Narada
  Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...
  
  
• Yami
  Yami
  In Vedic beliefs, Yamī is the first woman, along with her twin brother, Yama. The Rig Veda, in the tenth Mandala, contains a hymn in which they sing to each other. They were children of Surya, the Sun god, in his form as Vivasvat, and his wife Saranya. She is also known as Yamuna. Another name for...
  
  
• Yama
  Yama (Hinduism)
  Yama is the lord of death in Hinduism, first recorded in the Vedas. Yama belongs to an early stratum of Indo-Iranian theology. In Vedic tradition Yama was considered to have been the first mortal who died and espied the way to the celestial abodes, thus in virtue of precedence he became the ruler...
  
  

Non-human races

• Astomi
  Astomi
  In Hinduism, the Astomi are an ancient legendary race of people who had no need to eat or drink anything at all. They survived by smelling apples and flowers....
  
  
• Baital
• Naga
• Gandharva
  Gandharva
  Gandharva is a name used for distinct mythological beings in Hinduism and Buddhism; it is also a term for skilled singers in Indian classical music.-In Hinduism:...
  
  
• Yaksha
  Yaksha
  Yaksha is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology. The feminine form of the word is ' or Yakshini .In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist mythology,...
  
  
• Kinnara
  Kinnara
  In Buddhist mythology and Hindu mythology, a kinnara is a paradigmatic lover, a celestial musician, half-human and half-horse or half-bird...
  
  
• Kimpurusha
• Vidyadhara
• Asura
  Asura
  -In Hinduism:In Hinduism, the Asuras constitute a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes considered sinful and materialistic. The Daityas and Danavas were combinedly known as Asuras. The Asura were opposed to the Devas. Both groups are children of Kasyapa...
  
  
• Deva (Hinduism)
  Deva (Hinduism)
  ' is the Sanskrit word for god or deity, its related feminine term is devi. In modern Hinduism, it can be loosely interpreted as any benevolent supernatural beings. The devs in Hinduism, also called Suras, are often juxtaposed to the Asuras, their half brothers. Devs are also the maintainers of...
  
  
• Raksasa
• Pishacha
  Pishacha
  Pishachas are flesh eating demons, according to Hindu mythology. Their origin is obscure, although some believe that they were created by Brahma. Another legend describes them as the sons of either Krodh or of Daksha’s daughter Pishach. They have been described to have a dark complexion with...
  
  

Daitya

• Bali
  Mahabali
  Mahabali , also known as Bali or Māveli was a benevolent Asura King, and the grandson of Prahlada. The festival of Onam commemorates his yearly homecoming after being sent down to the underworld by Vamana, the fifth avatar of Vishnu.-Conquest of the Universe and banishment:Bali, an asura, was the...
  
  
• Hiranyakashipu
  Hiranyakashipu
  Hiranyakashipu [golden-haired] is an Asura from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. The Puranas describe Hiranyakashipu as an Asura. His younger brother, Hiranyaksha was slain by Varaha, one of the Avatars of Vishnu and angered by this, Hiranyakashipu decided to gain magical powers by performing...
  
  
• Hiranyaksha
  Hiranyaksha
  In Hinduism, Hiranyaksha [golden-eyed] was an Asura of pre-ancient India and the son of Diti and Kashyapa. He was slain by the god Vishnu after he took the Earth to the bottom of what has been described as the "Cosmic Ocean". His name in Sanskrit literally means "Goldeneye"...
  
  
• Taraka
  Taraka
  ' was the second wife of Hindu God Brihaspati, God of planet Jupiter. According to the Puranas, Tara sired or mothered child named Budha through Chandra ....
  
  
• Ravana
  Ravana
  ' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
  
  
• Kumbhakarna
  Kumbhakarna
  Kumbhakarna , is a rakshasa and brother of Ravana in the Indian Ramayana epic...
  
  
• Jalandhara
  Jalandhara
  Jalandhara is a figure in Hindu mythology. He is sometimes included in lists of aspects of Shiva....
  
  
• Bhasmasura
• Kamsa
  Kamsa
  In Hinduism, Kamsa or Kansa , often known as Kans in Hindi, is the brother of Devaki, and ruler of the Vrishni kingdom with its capital at Mathura. His father was King Ugrasena and mother was Queen Padmavati...
  
  

Vedanta

• Adi Shankara
  Adi Shankara
  Adi Shankara Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (IAST: pronounced , (Sanskrit: , ) (788 CE - 820 CE), also known as ' and ' was an Indian philosopher from Kalady of present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta...
  
  
• Sri Ramanuja
• Sri Madhvacharya
• Abhinava Vidyatirtha
• Bharati Theertha Swamigal
• Chandrashekhara Bharati (III)
• Sacchidanandendra Saraswati
  Sacchidanandendra Saraswati
  Sri Satchidanandendra Saraswati Swamiji was the founder of the Adhyatma Prakasha Karyalaya in Holenarasipura, Hassan district, Karnataka, India.-Life:...
  
  
• Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Narasimha Bharathi
• Vivekananda
• Chinmayananda
  Chinmayananda
  Swami Chinmayananda , born Balakrishna Menon , was a Hindu Indian spiritual leader, and teacher, who inspired the formation of Chinmaya Mission in 1953 to spread the message of Vedanta...
  
  
• Ramakrishna
  Ramakrishna
  Ramakrishna , born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay , was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu...
  
  
• Anantanand Rambachan
  Anantanand Rambachan
  Anantanand Rambachan is a Trinidadian Hindu-American scholar with a specific focus on interreligous dialogue. He is the Chair and Professor of Religion, Philosophy and Asian Studies at St. Olaf College, Minnesota, USA. He has been teaching at St. Olaf since 1985. Rambachan is a Hindu and is the...
  
  
• Sri Ramalinga Adigalar
• Sri Ramana Maharishi
• Sri Gnaeshwar Maharaj
• Bhagavan Sri Hari Swamiji
• Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
• Sri Adigalar Amma, Melmaruvathur
• Sri Shirdi Sai Baba
• Sri Lahiri Mahasaya
• Sri Reddiapatti Swamigal
• Saint Kabirdas
• Vethathiri Maharishi www.vethathiri.org
• Swami Nigamananda
  Swami Nigamananda
  Swami Nigamananda Paramahansa . His followers idealized him as their worshiped and beloved thakura.Nigamananda was a sannyasi of the Shankar's cult...
  
  

Bhakti

• Narada
  Narada
  Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...
  
  
• Purandara Dasa
  Purandara Dasa
  Purandara Dāsa is one of the most prominent composers of Carnatic music and is widely regarded as the "father of Carnatic Music". Purandara Dasa addressed social issues in addition to worship in his compositions, a practice emulated by his younger contemporary, Kanaka Dasa...
  
  
• Kanaka Dasa
  Kanaka Dasa
  Kanaka Dasa was a great poet, philosopher, musician and composer from Karnataka. He is known for his Kirtanes and Ugabhoga compositions in the Kannada language for Carnatic music...
  
  
• Mira Bai
• Nayanmars
• Alvars
  Alvars
  The alwar or azhwars were Tamil poet saints of south India who lived between the sixth and ninth centuries A.D. and espoused ‘emotional devotion’ or bhakti to Visnu-Krishna in their songs of longing, ecstasy and service. Sri Vaishnava orthodoxy posits the number of alvars as ten, though there are...
  
  
• Chaitanya
• Prabhupada

Politicians

• Mahatma Gandhi
  Mahatma Gandhi
  Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
  
  
• Jawaharlal Nehru
  Jawaharlal Nehru
  Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
  
  
• Vallabhbhai Patel
• Lal Bahadur Shastri
  Lal Bahadur Shastri
  Lal Bahadur Srivastava Shastri was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a significant figure in the Indian independence movement.-Early life:...
  
  
• Rajiv Gandhi
  Rajiv Gandhi
  Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
  
  
• Indira Gandhi
  Indira Gandhi
  Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
  
  
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee
  Atal Bihari Vajpayee
  Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
  
  
• Lal Krishna Advani
  Lal Krishna Advani
  Lal Kishanchand Advani known as Lal Krishna Advani is a Veteran Indian politician. A former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the major opposition party in the Indian Parliament. He also served as a Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004...
  
  
• Balasaheb Thackeray
• Govindacharya
• Narendra Modi
  Narendra Modi
  Narendra Damodardas Modi is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat.He was born in a middle class family in Vadnagar; and is a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since childhood, as also an active politician since early in life. He holds a masters degree in political...
  
  
• Uma Bharti
  Uma Bharti
  Uma Ragini Bharti , is an Indian politician. She was born in Tikamgarh District, Madhya Pradesh to a religious Lodhi Rajput family and from a very young age, started holding discourses on Indian Epics.Her father was an atheist...
  
  

Freedom fighters

• Pazhassi Raja
  Pazhassi Raja
  Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja , popularly known as Kerala Simham or Lion of Kerala, was the Hindu Nair King of Kottayam , which was based in modern Kannur District, North Malabar zone of Kerala State in...
  
  
• Mangal Pandey
  Mangal Pandey
  Mangal Pandey was a sepoy in the 34th Regiment of the Bengal Native Infantry of the English East India Company. He is widely known in India as one of its first freedom fighters...
  
  
• Chandrashekhar Azad
• Subash Chandra Bose
• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
• Veer Savarkar
• Lokmanya Tilak

Social leaders

• K.B. Hedgewar
• Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar
  Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar
  Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar , popularly known as Pujyaniya Guruji , was the second "Sarsanghchalak" of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh a social and cultural organization of India.-Early years:...
  
  
• K.S. Sudarshan
• Pravin Togadia

Religious organisations

• ISKCON
• Swaminarayan Sampraday
  Swaminarayan Sampraday
  Swaminarayan Sampraday , known previously as the Uddhav Sampraday, is a Hindu sect established by Swaminarayan...
  
  
• Arya Samaj
  Arya Samaj
  Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya...
  
  
• Ramakrishna Mission
  Ramakrishna Mission
  Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are twin organizations which form the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as Ramakrishna Movement or Vedanta Movement. The Ramakrishna Mission is a philanthropic, volunteer organization founded by Ramakrishna's chief disciple Swami Vivekananda on...
  
  
• Sringeri Sharada Peetham
  Sringeri Sharada Peetham
  Sringeri Sharada Peetham is the southern Advaita Vedanta matha. It is located in Shringeri. It is claimed that it is the first of the four original mathas established by Adi Shankara.-Location:...
  
  
• Vishva Hindu Parishad
  Vishva Hindu Parishad
  ' , which is usually known more simply as the VHP, is an international Hindu organization, which was founded in India in 1964. Its slogan is "धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः Dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ", which is supposed to mean "Dharma protects its protector"...
  
  
• Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
  Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
  Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or National Patriotic Organization), also known the Sangh, is a right-wing Hindu nationalist, paramilitary, volunteer, and allegedly militant organization for Hindu males in India...
  
  
• Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
  Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
  Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad , is an all India student organization working in the field of education. ABVP was founded in 1948 and formally registered on 9 July 1949.-History:...
  
  
• Bajrang Dal
  Bajrang Dal
  The Bajrang Dal , a hardline and militant Hindu organization in India, is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and is based on the ideology of Hindutva. Founded on 1 October 1984 in Uttar Pradesh, India, it has since spread throughout India...
  
  
• Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh
  Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh
  The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh is an organization that engages in community activities, social services and religious work amongst the adherents of any religion across the world....
  
  

Other terms and concepts

• Maya (illusion)
  Maya (illusion)
  Maya , in Indian religions, has multiple meanings, usually quoted as "illusion", centered on the fact that we do not experience the environment itself but rather a projection of it, created by us. Maya is the principal deity that manifests, perpetuates and governs the illusion and dream of duality...
  
  
• Itihasa
  Itihasa
  Itihasa as defined by Amarakosha refers to purvavritta, i.e. events of the past. In the Vedic age, those portions of the Brahmanas which narrated events of bygone days were known as itihasa and had some ritualistic importance...
  
  
• Karma in Hinduism
  Karma in Hinduism
  Karma is a concept in Hinduism which explains causality through a system where beneficial effects are derived from past beneficial actions and harmful effects from past harmful actions, creating a system of actions and reactions throughout a soul's reincarnated lives forming a cycle of rebirth...
  
  
• Kosas
• Sri
  Sri
  Sri , also transliterated as Shri or Shree or shre is a word of Sanskrit origin, used in the Indian subcontinent as polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, or as a title of veneration for deities .-Etymology:Sri has the root meaning of radiance, or...
  
  
• Shakti
  Shakti
  Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
  
  
• Purusha
  Purusha
  In some lineages of Hinduism, Purusha is the "Self" which pervades the universe. The Vedic divinities are interpretations of the many facets of Purusha...
  
  
• Gayatri
  Gayatri
  Gayatri is the feminine form of , a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn. Gayatri is a consort of Brahma and the goddess of learning. Brahma married her when there was a need for a companion during a yajna. Brahma had to start the yajna along with his wife...
  
  
• Vac
  Vac
  Vāk or Vāc is the Sanskrit word for "speech", "voice", "talk", or "language", from a verbal root "speak, tell, utter"....
  
  

Hindu lists

Main article: List of Hinduism topics

• Survey of Hindu organisations
• List of Hindu denominations
• List of Hindu gurus
• List of Hindus
• List of Hindu deities
• Survey of Hindu organisations
• List of Hindu temples
• Glossary of Hinduism terms