Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism is part of the Handbook of Oriental Studies, Section 2: South Asia (see Handbook of Oriental Studies, Section 2: South Asia), which publishes scholarly reference works, bibliographies, and research tools pertaining to the political, economic, social, linguistic, and religious history of the Indian subcontinent.



The six-volume Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism - with first volume published in 2009 and completed in 2014 with Vol. 6 - is a thematic encyclopedia, presenting the latest research on all the main aspects of the Hindu traditions in original essays written by the world’s foremost scholars on Hinduism. The Encyclopedia explicitly adopts an interdisciplinary and pluralistic approach, and in it, the term “Hinduism” is used critically in the knowledge that most of the traditions that today make up Hinduism are much older than the term itself. The Encyclopedia aims at a balanced and even-handed view of Hinduism, recognizing the tensions inherent in the academic examination of Hinduism. It emphasizes that Hinduism is a conglomerate of regional religious traditions and at the same time a global world religion. Hinduism is also both an ancient historical tradition and a living tradition flourishing in the contemporary world. It is an oral tradition, yet one with a huge number of sacred texts at its basis. Hinduism is both a religious identity and an object of academic scholarship.



Illustrated with maps and photographs, Brill’s Encyclopedia presents the learned philosophical and theological traditions of Hinduism as well as its many folk traditions. Covering the spread of Hinduism over the last two hundred years to all the continents as well as the interaction of Hinduism with other religions, it also portrays the various responses of Hindu traditions to a number of contemporary issues of great relevance today, such as feminism, human rights, egalitarianism, bioethics, and so on.



Volume I: Regions, Pilgrimage, Deities ISBN 978 90 04 17641 6 (Available)

Volume II: Sacred Texts, Ritual Traditions, Arts, Concepts iSBN 978 90 04 17893 9 (Available)

Volume III: Society, Religious Specialists, Religious Traditions, Philosophy ISBN 978 90 04 17894 6 (Available)

Volume IV: Historical Perspectives, Poets/Teachers/Saints, Relation to Other Religions and Traditions, Hinduism and Contemporary Issues ISBN 978 90 04 17895 3 (Available)

Volume V: Religious Symbols, Hinduism and Migration, Some Modern Religious Groups and Teachers ISBN 978 90 04 17896 0 (Available)

Volume VI: Indices ISBN 978 90 04 26555 4 (Available)



Associate editor: Helene Basu, Angelika Malinar, Vasudha Narayanan