Save

Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online

Editor-in-Chief:
Recently relaunched in March 2019 with many improvements and new content, Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism presents the latest research on all the main aspects of the Hindu traditions. Its essays are original work written by the world’s foremost scholars on Hinduism. The encyclopedia presents a balanced and even-handed view of Hinduism, recognizing the divergent perspectives and methods in the academic study of a religion that is both an ancient historical tradition and a flourishing tradition today. The encyclopedia embraces the greatest possible diversity, plurality, and heterogeneity, thus emphasizing that Hinduism encompasses a variety of regional traditions as well as a global world religion. Presenting all essays and research from the heralded printed edition, Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism is now available in a fully searchable, dynamic digital format. The service will include all content from the six printed volumes.

Volume I: Regions and the Regional Traditions / Sacred Space and Time / Gods, Goddesses, and Divine Powers
Volume II: Sacred Texts and Languages / Ritual Traditions / Arts / Concepts
Volume III: Society / Religious Specialists / Religious Traditions / Philosophy
Volume IV: Historical Perspectives / Poets, Teachers, and Saints / Relation to Other Religions and Traditions / Hinduism and Contemporary Issues
Volume V: Religious Symbols / Hinduism and Migration: Contemporary Communities outside South Asia / Some Modern Religious Groups and Teachers
Volume VI: Indices

Features and Benefits
• Access articles covering topics such as main regions within and beyond India and their regional traditions; sacred spaces and time and the various gods, goddesses, and divine powers of Hinduism past and present; major religious texts, literary genres, and sacred languages; performance, the arts, and ritual traditions; leading concepts and philosophical traditions; significant historical periods and eminent figures of saints, poets, and teachers; the interaction of Hinduism with other religions and the various responses of Hinduism to a number of contemporary issues such as feminism, human and animal rights, bioethics, and the Internet; and the place and role of Hinduism among communities in diaspora.
• Keyword and full-text search.
• Navigate extensive hyperlinked cross-references.
• Consult a comprehensive index of approximately 20,000 terms, concepts, and personal and place names accompanied by short explanations.
• View rich illustrations, maps, and photographs.

The Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online (ENHI) was originally published in 2012. It has now being relaunched with lots of improvements and some additional contents (but without a price increase).

* Improvements include:
1. All quotes, poems, lists, tables, images, diagrams, and other illustrations have a greatly improved appearance.
2. Corrections of factual errors handed in by authors over the years have been implemented.
3. “Forthcoming” in the bibliographies have been updated.
4. All URLs in the running texts and bibliographies have been verified and provided with a recent “accessed [date].” This resulted in removing close to half of them, as they are no longer available.

* New content (not included in the print edition):
1. Bhāgavatapurāṇa by Jonathan Edelmann
2. Cōmacuntara Nāyakar by Eric Steinschneider
3. Gayatri Pariwar by Daniel Heifetz
4. Haridwar by James Lochtefeld
5. Harivaṃśa by Simon Brodbeck
6. Kedarnath by Luke Whitmore
7. Omkareshwar by Jürgen Neuß
8. Pramukh Swami by Mamtora Bhakti
9. Śaiva Āgamas: The Four Pādas and Thirty-six Tattvas by T. Ganesan
10. Slavery by K.M. Shrimali
11. Soma by Matthew Clarke
12. Śrīdharasvāmin by Jonathan Edelmann
13. Srisailam by Prabhavati C. Reddy

In particular, the articles Soma (new insight regarding this psychotropic substance), Slavery (the topic having been denied/ignored for years in Indian studies), and Śaiva Āgamas (first time that the content – in contrast to the textual history – of this literary genre is dealt with in such depth) can be considered seminal.

Originally, Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism was published as a finished product with no plans for updates. However, the editors have agreed to produce a 7th print volume, and these articles will be part of it. All existing customers will be able to access the new improved version and the added articles with no additional charge.

Please contact our sales team for more information on prices and licensing.

$18.00
Add to Cart
Editor-in-Chief:

Author Guide

Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism presents the latest research on all the main aspects of the Hindu traditions in thematically organized articles written by the world’s foremost scholars on Hinduism. 

These six sample articles can be used as a reference for any encyclopedia on religions originating in South Asia in Brill’s HdO2 series: Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Brill’s Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Brill’s Encyclopedia of Jainism, and so on.

MARC21 record

Knut A. Jacobsen (Editor-in-Chief), University of Bergen, and Helene Basu, University of Münster, Angelika Malinar, University of Zürich, Vasudha Narayanan, University of Florida (Associate Editors)
"These are excellent volumes. There is nothing published quite like it in scope and depth. It brings together some of the most recent scholarship, takes a broad understanding of Hinduism, and is multi-disciplinary in approach, drawing on Indology, History of Religions, and Theology and dealing with both traditional topics and themes of contemporary concern such as human rights and feminism. This is an invaluable resource for students and scholars." - Gavin Flood, University of Oxford
"The scholarly world has long awaited an encyclopedia on Hinduism of the appropriate depth and comprehensiveness. With contributions from leading scholars from around the world on the subject, Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism is a prime example of fulfilling this need for generations to come. Scholars and students of Hinduism owe the editor and publisher of these handsome volumes a huge debt of gratitude." - Julius Lipner, Professor emeritus of Hinduism and the Comparative Study of Religion, University of Cambridge
The Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online (ENHI) was originally published in 2012. It has now being relaunched with lots of improvements and some additional contents (but without a price increase).

* Improvements include:
1. All quotes, poems, lists, tables, images, diagrams, and other illustrations have a greatly improved appearance.
2. Corrections of factual errors handed in by authors over the years have been implemented.
3. “Forthcoming” in the bibliographies have been updated.
4. All URLs in the running texts and bibliographies have been verified and provided with a recent “accessed [date].” This resulted in removing close to half of them, as they are no longer available.

* New content (not included in the print edition):
1. Bhāgavatapurāṇa by Jonathan Edelmann
2. Cōmacuntara Nāyakar by Eric Steinschneider 3. Gayatri Pariwar by Daniel Heifetz
4. Haridwar by James Lochtefeld
5. Harivaṃśa by Simon Brodbeck
6. Kedarnath by Luke Whitmore
7. Omkareshwar by Jürgen Neuß
8. Pramukh Swami by Mamtora Bhakti
9. Śaiva Āgamas: The Four Pādas and Thirty-six Tattvas by T. Ganesan
10. Slavery by K.M. Shrimali
11. Soma by Matthew Clarke
12. Śrīdharasvāmin by Jonathan Edelmann
13. Srisailam by Prabhavati C. Reddy

In particular, the articles Soma (new insight regarding this psychotropic substance), Slavery (the topic having been denied/ignored for years in Indian studies), and Śaiva Āgamas (first time to the knowledge of the editor in chief and me that the content – in contrast to the textual history – of this literary genre is dealt with in such depth) can be considered seminal.

Originally, Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism was published as a finished product with no plans for updates. However, the editors have agreed to produce a 7th print volume, and these articles will be part of it. All existing customers will be able to access the new improved version and the added articles with no additional charge.