hinduism

Hinduism (/ˈhɪnduɪzəm/)^[1] is an Indian religion and dharma, or way of life.^{[note 1][note 2]} It is the world’s third-largest religion, with over 1.2 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus.^{[2][web 1][web 2]} The word Hindu is an exonym,^{[3][4][note 3]} and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world,^{[note 4]} many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma (Sanskrit: सनातन धर्म, lit. ”the Eternal Dharma”), which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts.^{[5][6][7][8][note 5]} Another, though less fitting,^[9] self-designation is Vaidika dharma,^{[10][11][12][13]} the ‘dharma related to the Vedas.’^[14]

Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of philosophies and shared concepts, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, and shared textual sources that discuss theology, metaphysics, mythology, Vedic yajna, yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics.^[15]