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Hinduism Timeline

(c. 2300 BCE – Present)

Hinduism is one of the world's oldest religions, originating in the Indian subcontinent over 4,000 years ago. It encompasses a diverse range of philosophies, beliefs, and rituals centered on concepts such as dharma (duty), karma (action and consequence), and moksha (liberation). Unlike most major religions, Hinduism has no single founder and evolved gradually through texts like the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Less

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Origins and Ancient Period

Puranic chronology envisions events before 3000 BCE

3000 BCE

The Puranic chronology, as narrated in the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and the Puranas, envisions a timeline of events related to Hinduism starting well before 3000 BCE.

Image source: Hinduism

Puranic chronology envisions events before 3000 BCE

Pre-Vedic period with Indus Valley Civilization

2600 BCE - 1750 BCE

The first period is the pre-Vedic period, which includes the Indus Valley Civilization and local pre-historic religions, ending at about 1750 BCE.

Image source: Indus Valley Civilisation

Pre-Vedic period with Indus Valley Civilization

Vedic period begins with Indo-Aryan migrations

1900 BCE - 1400 BCE

This period was followed in northern India by the Vedic period, which saw the introduction of the historical Vedic religion with the Indo-Aryan migrations, starting somewhere between 1900 BCE to 1400 BCE.

Image source: Vedic period

Vedic period begins with Indo-Aryan migrations

Oral transmission of Hindu scriptures

1500 BCE - 500 BCE

Hindu scriptures were composed, memorised and transmitted verbally, across generations, for many centuries before they were written down.

Image source: Śruti

Oral transmission of Hindu scriptures

Gautama Dharmasutras list 48 sanskaras

600 BCE - 400 BCE

Gautama Dharmasutras composed in about the middle of the 1st millennium BCE lists 48 sanskaras, while Gryhasutra and other texts composed centuries later list between 12 and 16 sanskaras.

Image source: Samskara (Indian philosophy)

Gautama Dharmasutras list 48 sanskaras

Avatar appears as noun in Puranic literature

500 CE - 600 CE

The word avatar does not appear in the Vedic literature; it appears in verb forms in post-Vedic literature, and as a noun particularly in the Puranic literature after the 6th century CE.

Image source: Avatar

Avatar appears as noun in Puranic literature

Late Classical period establishes Puranic Hinduism

650 CE - 1100 CE

The period from roughly 650 to 1100 CE forms the late Classical period or early Middle Ages, in which classical Puranic Hinduism is established, and Adi Shankara's influential consolidation of Advaita Vedanta takes place.

Terminology and Identity

Darius I inscription mentions Hindush (Sindh)

522 BCE - 486 BCE

The 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I mentions Hindush (referring to Sindh) among his provinces.

Sasanian inscription contains Hindustan

200 CE - 300 CE

Hindustan (spelt "hndstn") is found in a Sasanian inscription from the 3rd century CE.

Image source: Hindustan

Sasanian inscription contains Hindustan

Vaidika dharma used as self-designation

300 CE - 400 CE

According to Arvind Sharma, the historical evidence suggests that "the Hindus were referring to their religion by the term vaidika dharma or a variant thereof" by the 4th-century CE.

Xuanzang's Record of the Western Regions uses 'Hindu'

600 CE - 700 CE

Among the earliest known records of 'Hindu' with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by Xuanzang.

Image source: Records of the Western Regions

Xuanzang's Record of the Western Regions uses 'Hindu'

Hindustan emerges as popular name for India

1200 CE - 1300 CE

By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as a popular alternative name of India or northern India.

'Hindu' appears in Persian, Sanskrit and Prakrit texts

1300 CE - 1400 CE

In the 14th century, 'Hindu' appeared in several texts in Persian, Sanskrit and Prakrit within India, and subsequently in vernacular languages, often in comparative contexts to contrast them with Muslims or "Turks".

Image source: Hindus

'Hindu' appears in Persian, Sanskrit and Prakrit texts

Kīrttilatā by Vidyapati composed

1400 CE

Circa 1400, the Apabhramsa text Kīrttilatā by Vidyapati, along with 16–18th century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava texts, used terms contrasting Hindus with others.

Image source: Vidyapati

Kīrttilatā by Vidyapati composed

European merchants adopt 'Hindoo' for Indians

1600 CE - 1700 CE

Starting in the 17th century, European merchants and colonists adopted "Hindu" (often with the English spelling "Hindoo") to refer to residents of India as a religious community.

Charles Grant coins 'Hindooism'

1787 CE

Terms such as "Hindoo faith" and "Hindoo religion" were often used, eventually leading to the appearance of "Hindooism" in a letter of Charles Grant in 1787, who used it along with "Hindu religion".

Image source: Charles Grant (British East India Company)

Charles Grant coins 'Hindooism'

Medieval and Early Modern Developments

Common denominators for Indian religions develop

1100 CE - 1200 CE

The notion of common denominators for several religions and traditions of India further developed from the 12th century CE.

Thinkers unify diverse Hindu philosophical teachings

1200 CE - 1600 CE

According to Nicholson, already between the 12th and the 16th centuries certain thinkers began to treat as a single whole the diverse philosophical teachings of the Upanishads, epics, Puranas, and the schools known retrospectively as the 'six systems' (saddarsana) of mainstream Hindu philosophy. The tendency of 'a blurring of philosophical distinctions' has also been noted by Mikel Burley.

Image source: Hindu philosophy

Thinkers unify diverse Hindu philosophical teachings

Bhakti movement gains prominence under Islamic rule

1250 CE - 1750 CE

Hinduism under both Hindu and Islamic rulers from c. 1250–1750 CE saw the increasing prominence of the Bhakti movement, which remains influential today.

Image source: Bhakti movement

Bhakti movement gains prominence under Islamic rule

Lorenzen locates Hindu identity origins pre-1800

1500 CE - 1800 CE

Lorenzen locates the origins of a distinct Hindu identity in the interaction between Muslims and Hindus, and a process of "mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim other", which started well before 1800.

Image source: Hindu nationalism

Lorenzen locates Hindu identity origins pre-1800

Goa Inquisition persecutes Hindus

1560 CE

In Goa, the 1560 inquisition by Portuguese colonists is also considered one of the most brutal persecutions of Hindus.

Image source: Goa Inquisition

Goa Inquisition persecutes Hindus

Tukaram and Ramdas glorify Hinduism

1608 CE - 1681 CE

Saints and sometimes militant sect leaders, such as the Marathi poet Tukaram (1609–1649) and Ramdas (1608–1681), articulated ideas in which they glorified Hinduism and the past.

Image source: Tukaram

Tukaram and Ramdas glorify Hinduism

Modern Era and Global Spread

Neo-Vedanta develops inclusivism

1800 CE - 2000 CE

This inclusivism was further developed in the 19th and 20th centuries by Hindu reform movements and Neo-Vedanta, and has become characteristic of modern Hinduism.

Missionaries popularise 'Hinduism' as single tradition

1800 CE - 1900 CE

The notion and reports on "Hinduism" as a "single world religious tradition" were also popularised by 19th-century proselytising missionaries and European Indologists, roles sometimes served by the same person, who relied on texts preserved by Brahmins for their information of Indian religions.

Image source: Orientalism

Missionaries popularise 'Hinduism' as single tradition

Indian modernists reassert Hinduism's Aryan origins

1800 CE - 1900 CE

Beginning in the 19th century, Indian modernists re-asserted Hinduism as a major asset of Indian civilisation, meanwhile "purifying" Hinduism from its Tantric elements and elevating the Vedic elements.

Yoga and Hare Krishna movement gain appeal in West

1800 CE - 1900 CE

Since the 19th century, modern Hinduism, influenced by Western culture, has acquired a great appeal in the West, notably reflected in the popularisation of Yoga and various sects such as Transcendental Meditation and the ISKCON's Hare Krishna movement.

Image source: Hinduism in the West

Yoga and Hare Krishna movement gain appeal in West

Raja Ram Mohan Roy first Indian to use 'Hinduism'

1816 CE - 1817 CE

The first Indian to use "Hinduism" may have been Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1816–17.

Image source: Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Raja Ram Mohan Roy first Indian to use 'Hinduism'

Yoga Sutras gain renewed popularity

1900 CE - 2000 CE

The Yoga Sutras is a classical text for the Hindu Yoga tradition, which gained renewed popularity in the 20th century.

Image source: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Yoga Sutras gain renewed popularity

Indian diaspora spreads Hinduism worldwide

1900 CE - 2000 CE

During the 20th century, due to the Indian diaspora, Hindu minorities have formed in all continents, with the largest communities in absolute numbers in the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Image source: Hinduism by country

Indian diaspora spreads Hinduism worldwide

Missionary organisations spread Hinduism abroad

1900 CE - 2021 CE

Although religious conversion from and to Hinduism has been a controversial subject, in the 20th–21st century many missionary organisations such as ISKCON, Sathya Sai Organization, and Vedanta Society have been influential in spreading the core culture of Hinduism outside India.

Image source: ISKCON

Missionary organisations spread Hinduism abroad

Swami Ghanananda Saraswati converts Ghanaians

1900 CE - 2014 CE

There are many new ethnic Ghanaian Hindus in Ghana, who have converted to Hinduism due to the works of Swami Ghanananda Saraswati and the Hindu Monastery of Africa, from the beginning of the 20th century, by the forces of Baba Premananda Bharati (1858–1914), Swami Vivekananda, and others.

Image source: Hindu Monastery of Africa

Swami Ghanananda Saraswati converts Ghanaians

Tilak defines Hinduism in Gita Rahasya

1915 CE

Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave the following definition in Gita Rahasya (1915): "Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence; recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are diverse; and realization of the truth that the number of gods to be worshipped is large".

Image source: Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Tilak defines Hinduism in Gita Rahasya

Partition of India creates Hindu-majority republic

1947 CE

The Partition of India in 1947 was along religious lines, with the Republic of India emerging with a Hindu majority.

Image source: Partition of India

Partition of India creates Hindu-majority republic

Indian Supreme Court adopts Tilak's definition

1966 CE - 1995 CE

It was quoted by the Indian Supreme Court in 1966, and again in 1995, "as an 'adequate and satisfactory' definition", and is still the legal definition of a Hindu today.

McDaniel classifies six major kinds of Hinduism

2007 CE

June McDaniel (2007) classifies Hinduism into six major kinds and numerous minor kinds, in order to understand the expression of emotions among the Hindus.

WRD estimates Vaishnavism largest Hindu tradition

2020 CE

According to a 2020 estimate by The World Religion Database hosted at Boston University, the Vaishnavism tradition is the largest group with about 399 million Hindus, followed by Shaivism with 385 million, Shaktism with 305 million and other traditions including Neo-Hinduism and Reform Hinduism with 25 million Hindus.

Image source: Vaishnavism

WRD estimates Vaishnavism largest Hindu tradition

Pew estimates 95% of Hindus live in India

2020 CE

According to the 2020 population estimate by Pew Research Center, 95% of the global Hindu population of 1,177,860,000 is concentrated in India, the only country with a Hindu population exceeding one billion.

Image source: Hinduism in India

Pew estimates 95% of Hindus live in India

Key Facts

  1. Hinduism is often considered the world's oldest living religion, with roots tracing back over 4,000 years to the Indus Valley Civilization and early Vedic traditions.
  2. Hinduism has no single founder; instead, it developed organically from a fusion of Vedic beliefs and indigenous Indian traditions.
  3. Sacred texts of Hinduism include the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and epic poems like the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
  4. Core Hindu concepts include dharma (moral duty), karma (the law of cause and effect), samsara (the cycle of rebirth), and moksha (liberation from that cycle).
  5. Hinduism is the third-largest religion in the world today, with roughly 1.2 billion followers, the vast majority of whom live in India and Nepal.

Source

This Hinduism timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

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