The series offers authoritative, comprehensive coverage of the history of Hinduism. Although the word Hinduism is problematic, as the term’s origins are only in the nineteenth century and Hindu is only attested as a self-description from the sixteenth century, it nevertheless denotes a range of traditions within India that go back at least to the first millennium bce . The volumes in the series provide a history of the religious traditions encompassed by the term Hinduism , from the first millennium bce to the present day. One of the problems about studying the history of Hinduism, especially in the earlier period, concerns dating. It has been notoriously difficult to establish the dates of early traditions, figures, and texts before the medieval period. We can fairly accurately date Sanskrit texts of Buddhism when translated into Chinese, but “Hindu” texts are more problematic, although there is general agreement about the sequence of major developments in this history. While some scholars have argued against using the category religion in the Indian context, on the grounds of its “local” origin in the history of the West, I take it to be a meaningful category that demarcates a set of ideas, practices, and hopes and find that the English word is no more problematic than is culture or even society . But we do need to acknowledge these difficulties and that our claims as scholars are always provisional and subject to correction, and our categories must often be used without consensual definition.
Each volume considers the relationship between Hinduism and the wider society, for religion is always embedded within culture and sociopolitical structures. Hinduism needs to be understood as dynamically engaging with wider Indian society and with other religions, particularly Buddhism and Jainism, throughout its long history. This dynamism and interactive nature of the religion is reflected in each of the volumes, some of which are more focused on Sanskrit traditions, while other volumes will have more weight on vernacular literatures such as Tamil. After the Vedic age, the volumes are organized thematically and chronologically. Thus, we have volumes devoted to the three major traditions focused on Shiva, the Goddess, and Vishnu, volumes on the themes of philosophy and practice, Hinduism in the modern world, and vernacular traditions. Each volume addresses not only theological concerns but also material culture, such as temples and architecture, along with the history of practices such as making offerings to a deity (pūjā ), observances or vows (vrata ), and pilgrimage (yatra ), which cut across specific traditions.
Professor Gavin Flood, FBA
General Editor of The Oxford History of Hinduism series