Hindu

Hinduism is the predominant religious tradition[1] of South Asia. Hinduism is often referred to as San?tana Dharma (a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law") by its adherents.[2][3] Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as in Vaishnavism. Hinduism also includes yogic traditions and a wide spectrum of "daily morality" based on the notion of karma and societal norms such as Hindu marriage customs.

Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder.[4] Among its roots is the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India, and as such Hinduism is often called the "oldest living religion"[5][Full citation needed] or the "oldest living major religion".[6][7][8][9]

Demographically, Hinduism is the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam, with more than a billion adherents, of whom approximately 1 billion live in India.[10][11] Other significant populations are found in Nepal (23 million), Bangladesh (14 million) and the Indonesian island of Bali (3.3 million).

A large body of texts is classified as Hindu, divided into ?ruti ("revealed") and Smriti ("remembered") texts. These texts discuss theology, philosophy and mythology, and provide information on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among these texts, the Vedas are the foremost in authority, importance and antiquity. Other major scriptures include the Upanishads, Pur??as and the epics Mah?bh?rata and R?m?ya?a. The Bhagavad G?t?, a treatise from the Mah?bh?rata, spoken by Krishna, is of special importance.

The earliest evidence for prehistoric religion in India date back to the late Neolithic in the early Harappan period (5500–2600 BCE).[21][22] The beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era (1500–500 BCE) are called the "historical Vedic religion". Modern Hinduism grew out of the Vedas, the oldest of which is the Rigveda, dated to 1700–1100 BCE.[23] The Vedas center on worship of deities such as Indra, Varuna and Agni, and on the Soma ritual. Fire-sacrifices, called yajña were performed, and Vedic mantras chanted but no temples or icons were built.[24] The oldest Vedic traditions exhibit strong similarities to Zoroastrianism and other Indo-European religions.[25]

The major Sanskrit epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, were compiled over a protracted period during the late centuries BCE and the early centuries CE[citation needed]. They contain mythological stories about the rulers and wars of ancient India, and are interspersed with religious and philosophical treatises. The later Puranas recount tales about devas and devis, their interactions with humans and their battles against demons.

Three major movements underpinned the naissance of a new epoch of Hindu thought: the advent and spread of Upanishadic, Jaina, and Buddhist philosophico-religious thought throughout the broader Indian landmass.[26] Mahavira (24th Tirthankar of Jains) and Buddha (founder of Buddhism) taught that to achieve moksha or nirvana, one did not have to accept the authority of the Vedas or the caste system. Buddha went a step further and claimed that the existence of a Self/soul or God was unnecessary.[27] Buddhism peaked during the reign of Asoka the Great of the Mauryan Empire, who unified the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd century BCE. After 200 CE several schools of thought were formally codified in Indian philosophy, including Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purva-Mimamsa and Vedanta.[28] Charvaka, the founder of an atheistic materialist school, came to the fore in North India in the sixth century BCE.[29] Between 400 BCE and 1000 CE Hinduism expanded at the expense of Buddhism.[30]

Sanskritic culture went into decline after the end of the Gupta period.