Religious Studies Subject Guide: Hinduism

A new approach to the study of Hindu nationalism, this book offers a theoretically innovative understanding of Indian history and socio-politics.

The chapters cover critical issues such as the origins of the Upaniṣads, authorship, and redaction, as well as exploring the broad religious and philosophical themes within the texts. The guide analyzes each of the Upaniṣads separately, unpacking their contextual relevance and explaining difficult terms and concepts.

In The Snake and The Mongoose, Nathan McGovern turns a commonly-accepted model of the origins of the early Indian religions on its head. His book seeks to de-center the Hindu Brahman from our understanding of Indian religion by "taming the snake and the mongoose" - that is, by abandoning the anachronistic distinction between "Brahmanical" and "non-Brahmanical."

Viewed through the lens of worship practices, legend, and literature, belief in goddesses is discovered as the formative impulse of much of public and private life. The influence of the goddess culture is especially powerful on women's life, often paradoxically situating women between veneration and subjection.

The Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend provides a large number of accessible and authoritative entries to answer any major question about Hinduism.

The Encyclopedia covers all aspects of Hinduism but departs from other works in including more ethnographic and contemporary material in contrast to an exclusively textual and historical approach.

This source relates the history of Hinduism through a chronology, photos, an extensive bibliography, and over 1,000 cross referenced dictionary entries.

Comprehensive dictionary, covering all the major Hindu practices, festivals, beliefs, gods, sacred sites, languages, and religious texts.