Hinduism Portal
Hinduism is formed of multiple traditions and does not have a founder. Originally, Hindu was a secular term which was used to describe all inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent (or Hindustan) irrespective of their religious affiliation. An important part of Hinduism is the "Vedic religion". It is also called the oldest living religion. A large body of texts is classified as Hindu which includes discussions on theology, philosophy and mythology, and information on the practice of dharma (religious living).
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Overview of all Hinduism books:
Volume I comprises Buddhist and Jaina Philosophy and the six systems of Hindu thought, viz.., Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisesika, Mimamsa and V...
Volume 2 completes studies in the Sankara School of Vedanta. It also contains the philosophy of the Yogavasistha, the Bhagavadgita and specu...
Vol. III contains an elaborate account of the principal dualistic and pluralistic systems such as the philosophy of the Pancaratra. Bhaskara...
Vol. IV deals with the Bhagavata Purana, Madhva and his School, Vallabha, Caitanya, Jiva Gosvami and Baladeva Vidyabhusana.
This is the ...
Vol. V contains an examination of the literature of southern Saivism, Vira-Saivism, the philosophy of Srikantha, the Saiva philosophy in the...
This is the English translation of the Adhyatma Upanishad (belonging to the Shukla Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a ...
This is the English translation of the Amritabindu Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongs...
This is the English translation of the Amritanada Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst...
The Dharmasutra of Āpastamba forms a part of the larger Kalpasūtra of Āpastamba. It contains thirty praśnas, which literally means ‘qu...
These Sūtras give some general information about the performance of sacrifices, and may prove useful to the students both of the Śrauta an...
The short treatise of Āpastamba on the Gṛhya ritual forms one Praśna of the great corpus of the Āpastambīya-Kalpa-sūtra and stands, a...
The Ashtavakra Gita (अष्टावक्रगीता; aṣṭāvakragītā) or the 'Song of Ashtavakra' is a classical Advaita Vedan...
Most of the questions referring to the Gṛhya-sūtra of Āśvalāyana will be treated of more conveniently in connection with the different...
This is the English translation of the Atmabodha Upanishad (belonging to the Rigveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a collecti...
The praśnas of the Dharmasūtra of Baudhāyana consist of the Srautasutra and other ritual treatises, the Sulvasutra which deals with vedic...
English translation of the Gita-mahatmya. This book represents a conversation between Shiva and his consort Srimati Parvati. It is Lord Shiv...
This is the English translation of the Bhikshuka Upanishad (belonging to the Shukla-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a...
The English translation of the Brahma Purana, one of the eighteen major (maha-) puranas. Contents include cosmology, genealogy (solar dynast...
This is the English translation of the Brahma-sutras including the commentary (Bhashya) of Shankara. The Brahma-sutra (or, Vedanta-sutra) is...
This is the English translation of the Brahma Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a c...
The Brihad Bhagavatamrita by Sanatana Gosvami is a consummate rendering in Sanskrit verse of Vaishnava devotional spirituality as inspired b...
This is the English translation of the Brihat-samhita, one of the fundamental works of ancient Indian astronomy (known as Jyotisha). It was ...
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is revered by devotees as an incarnation of Krishna and Radharani as avatars of the Parmatma, or Supreme Godhead. He wa...
This is the English translation of the Chandogya-upanishad, including a commentary based on Swami Lokeswarananda’s weekly discourses; inco...
The English translation of the Devi Bhagavata Purana. This Sanskrit work describes the Devi (Divine), the Goddess, as the foundation of the ...
This is the English translation of the Dhyana Bindu Upanishad (belonging to the Samaveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a coll...
This is the English translation of the Garbha Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a c...
The topics in this Dharmasūtra are devoted to the student, the order of a person's life (āśramas), the householder, occupations of the fo...
This is the English translation of the Gautami-Mahatmya, which forms the fourth part of the Brahma-purana. The Gautamimahatmya narrates the ...
The Sūtra of Gobhila presupposes, beside the Saṃhitā of the Sāma-veda, another collection of Mantras which evidently was composed expre...
This is the English translation of the Hamsa Upanishad (belonging to the Shukla-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a col...
This is the English translation of the Hatha-yoga-pradipika: possibly the oldest extant text about Hatha Yoga. It was written around the 15t...
Hiraṇyakeśin was the founder of a ritual and scholastic tradition belonging to the Taittirīya branch of the Black Yajur Veda.
A comprehensive work on Indian Botany including plant synonyms in various languages, habitat description and uses in traditional medicine, s...
The Isha Upanishad (or, Isopanisad) describes the nature of the supreme being (Isha) and is one of the shortest of the Upanishads. It figure...
This is the English translation of the Isha Upanishad: a key scripture of the Vedanta sub-schools, and an influential Śruti to diverse scho...
The Kaivalya Upanishad is an advanced philosophy and is in reply to the plea of Ashvalayana, already advanced in both years and practice. As...
This is the English translation of the Kaivalya Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a...
This is the English translation of the Kali Santarana Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amo...
The first chapter contains the story of Naciketas and Yama; the second chapter teaches the path to liberation; the third chapter relates to ...
This is the English translation of the Kathasaritsagara written by Somadeva around 1070. The principle story line revolves around prince Nar...
The very title of this Upanishad is philosophically significant. Kena in Sanskrit implies a question, and means by ‘by whom?’ Philosophy...
The Khādira-Gṛhya has evidently been composed with the intention of abridging Gobhila's very detailed and somewhat lengthy treatise on th...
This is the English translation of the Laghu-yoga-Vasistha, an ancient Sanskrit treatise authored by the sage Valmiki. Like many of the Pura...
The English translation of the Mahabharata: one of the two major Sanskrit epics of India. Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War ...
This is the English translation of the Maitreya Upanishad (belonging to the Samaveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a collecti...
This is the English translation of the Mandala-brahmana Upanishad (belonging to the Shukla-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected am...
This is the English translation of the Manusmriti, which is a collection of Sanskrit verses dealing with ‘Dharma’, a collective name for...
This is the English translation of the Muktika Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor treatise selected amongst a collectio...
This is the English translation of the Nada Bindu Upanishad (belonging to the Rigveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a collect...
This is the English translation of the Narada Parivrajaka Upanishad (belonging to the Atharvaveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected among...
This is the English translation of the Narayana Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a...
The Nectar of Devotion is a summary study of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, which was written in Sanskrit by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda...
This is the English translation of the Niralamba Upanishad (belonging to the Shukla-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a...
This is the English translation of the Paingala Upanishad (belonging to the Shukla Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a ...
Stories in English used by Swami Rama to illustrate the highest teaching of Vedanta. The most difficult and intricate problems of philosophy...
THE Gṛhya-sūtra of Pāraskara, which belongs to the White Yajur-veda and forms an appendix to Kātyāyana's Śrauta-sūtra, has been edit...
The Advaita tradition traces its inspiration to God Himself — as Śrīman-Nārāyaṇa or as Sadā-Śiva. The supreme Lord revealed the wi...
This first volume of the Rasa-jala-nidhi includes preliminary information on Alchemy including initiation of a discpiple, laboratory setup, ...
This second volume of the Rasa-jala-nidhi deals with the purification, incineration and medicinal uses of various minerals (uparasa), as wel...
This third volume of the Rasa-jala-nidhi deals with purification techniques of the Seven Metals (sapta-dhatu) and various Gems (ratna). It a...
This fourth volume of the Rasa-jala-nidhi deals with Rasa-chikitsa-vidya, also known a the science of Iatrchemistry (chemical medicine), a m...
This fifth volume of the Rasa-jala-nidhi deals with the symptoms, treatment and dietary prescriptions of various afflictions. For example, r...
The is is the english translation of the Sanatkumara Samhita. Sanatkumara in Sanskrit means “eternal youth”.
Sage Sanatkumara was on...
The Gṛhya-sūtra ascribed to Śāṅkhāyana, which has been edited and translated into German in the XVth volume of the "Indische St...
This is the English translation of the Sariraka Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a...
This is the English translation of the Sarvasara Upanishad (belonging to the Shukla-Yajurveda): a minor treatise selected amongst a collecti...
The English translation of the Satapatha Brahmana, including annotations and footnotes. The Sanskrit brahmanas are commentaries on the Vedas...
A collection of papers and essays addressing the Śakti aspect of the Śākta school of Hindu philosophy by John Woodroffe, also known as Ar...
This is the English translation of the Shandilya Upanishad (belonging to the Atharvaveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a coll...
Shri Gaudiya Kantahara (English translation) was published by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati to train devotees in the philosophy of Krishna...
This is the English translation of the Skanda Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a c...
The Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu is an ontological analysis of the pastimes of Shri Krishna presented in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana)...
The book contains the essence on how devotees develop love of Krishna, and how they bring Krishna under control through their love.
Sri Krishna Vijaya is the description of Lord Krishna's pastimes when He appeared on earth more than five thousand years ago.
Compiled by...
This is the English translation of the Subala Upanishad (belonging to the Shukla Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a co...
This current book, the Sutra-sthana (english translation), is the first part of this voluminous medical work. It contains a large summary of...
This current book, the Nidana-sthana (english translation), is the second part of this voluminous medical work. It deals with diseases: thei...
This current book, the Sharira-sthana (english translation), deals with anatomy, the human body, cosmology, embryology and various other sub...
This current book, the Chikitsa-sthana (english translation), deals with therapeutics, surgical emergencies, geriatrics, aphrodisiacs and va...
This current book, the Kalpa-sthana (english translation), deals with the nature of poisons, the management of poisons, toxicology and vario...
This current book, the Uttara-tantra (english translation) is the supplementary part of the Sushrutasamhita and deals various subjects such ...
This is the English translation of the Tarasara Upanishad (belonging to the Shukla-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a ...
This is the English translation of the Tejobindu Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst ...
Volume 8, The Sacred Books of the East. This part Contains the english translation of the Anugita (a portion of the Ashvamedhika Parva from ...
Volume 8, The Sacred Books of the East. This part Contains the english translation of the Bhagavad-gita.
After writing the Bhagavatam, also known as Bhagavata Purana, Vysa imparted the knowledge of Bhagvatam to his son Suka Bramha rishi.
The Hitopadesa is a work of high antiquity, and extended popularity. The prose is doubtless as old as our own era; but the intercalated vers...
The Brahma Purana (Brahma Purāņa) is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts. It is divided into two parts...
This Upanishad is widely known for its philosophical statements and is ascribed to Yajnavalkya. It looks at reality as being indescribable a...
The Ganesha Purana is a Hindu religious text dedicated to the Hindu deity Ganesha (Gaṇeśa). It is an upapurāṇa that includes many stor...
The Garuda Purana (Garuḍa purāṇa) is a smriti Purana (smṛti, Hindu customary law). Its first part contains a dialog between Vishnu an...
This is a translation of an abridged version of the Garuda Purana. The Garuda Purana is one of the Vishnu Puranas. It is in the form of a di...
The English translation of the Garuda Purana: contents include a creation theory, description of vratas (religious observances), sacred holi...
The Harsha-charita of Banabhatta, trans. by E. B. Cowell and F. W Thomas, 1897
The Ishavasya Upanishad (or simply Isha) is one of the shortest of its kind, and basically represents a brief philosophical poem discussing ...
The Ishavasya Upanishad (or simply Isha) is one of the shortest of its kind, and basically represents a brief philosophical poem discussing ...
The Katha Upanishad is a collection of philosophical poems representing a conversation between the sage Naciketas and Yama (god of death). T...
The Kena Upanishad is a collection of philosophical poems discussing the attributes of Brahman: the unchanging, infinite universal spirit. B...
The Mahabharata is a large text describing ancient India. In it are records of the adventures of mythological beings, wars among the gods an...
The Mahabharata is a large text describing ancient India. In it are records of the adventures of mythological beings, wars among the gods an...
The Mahabharata is a large text describing ancient India. In it are records of the adventures of mythological beings, wars among the gods an...
The Mahabharata is a large text describing ancient India. In it are records of the adventures of mythological beings, wars among the gods an...
The Mandukya Upanishad is a short, just twelve verses, description of the material manifestation and the eventual return to unmanifest form ...
This is the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad. The school of philosop...
This is the English translation of the Markandeya Purana, one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. The Puranas (purāṇa) are a genre of Hindu reli...
This is the English translation of the Abhinaya-darpana by Nandikeshvara: an encyclopedic manual of the art of gesticulation. It belongs to ...
The Mundaka Upanishad is a collection of philosophical poems used to teach meditation and spiritual knowledge regarding the true nature of B...
The Narada Purana (Nārada Purāṇa) is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts. It deals with the places o...
The English translation of the Natyashastra, a Sanskrit work on drama, performing arts, theater, dance, music and various other topics. The ...
Om auspiciousness. Salutation to the auspicious Ganes'a.
Salutation to the venerable Vasudeva Om.
The Prashna Upanishad is a series philosophical poems presented as questions (prashna) inquired by various Hindu sages (Rishi) and answered ...
Volume 8, The Sacred Books of the East. This part Contains the english translation of the Sanatsujatiya (a portion of the Udyoga Parva from ...
The Sarva-darsana-samgraha (English translation) of Madhava Acharya is a compendium of different philosophical schools of Hindu thought and ...
The English translation of the Shiva Purana, one of the eighteen major puranas. Contents include cosmology, mythology, yoga, description of ...
The following story of the appearance of Lord Nrisimhadeva is from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 7, Chapters 2-10.
At the performance of the ...
The Taittiriya Upanishad is one of the older, "primary" Upanishads, part of the Yajur Veda. It says that the highest goal is to kn...
The Vishnu Purana (Viṣṇu Purāṇa) is a religious Hindu text and one of the (most important) eighteen Mahapuranas. It is also known as ...
The English translation of the Vishnu Purana. This is a primary sacred text of the Vaishnava branch of Hinduism. It is one of the eighteen g...
Tirukkuṟaḷ is a classic of couplets or Kurals (1330 rhyming Tamil couplets) or aphorisms. It was authored by Thiruvalluvar, a poet who i...
Thiruvasagam is a volume of Tamil hymns composed by the ninth century Shaivite bhakti poet Manikkavacakar. It contains 51 compositions and c...
This is the English translation of the Vajrasucika Upanishad (belonging to the Samaveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a colle...
This is the English translation of the Varaha Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst a c...
The Dharmasūtra of Vasiṣṭha forms an independent treatise and has no relationship with the Kalpasutra. The chapters of this text are di...
The Brahma sūtras (aka. Vedānta Sūtras) are one of the three canonical texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy.
The Brahma s...
The Brahma sūtras (aka. Vedānta Sūtras) are one of the three canonical texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy.
The Brahma s...
The Vivekachudamani is a collection of poetical couplets authored by Shankara around the eighth century. The philosophical school this compi...
The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali are 196 Indian sūtras (aphorisms) that constitute the foundational text of Ashtanga Yoga, also called Raja Y...
The English translation of the Yoga-vasistha: a Hindu philosophical and spiritual text written by sage Valmiki from an Advaita-vedanta persp...
This is the English translation of the Yoga-kundalini Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amo...
This is the English translation of the Yogatattva Upanishad (belonging to the Krishna-Yajurveda): a minor Sanskrit treatise selected amongst...