An ideal resource for courses on Hinduism or world religions, this accessible volume spans the entire field of Hindu studies.

It provides a forum for the best scholars in the world to make their views and research available to a wider audience.

• Comprehensively covers the textual traditions of Hinduism
• Features four coherent sections covering theoretical issues, textual traditions, science and philosophy, and Hindu society and politics
• Reflects the trend away from essentialist understandings of Hinduism towards tradition and regional-specific studies
• Includes material on Hindu folk religions and stresses the importance of region in analyzing Hinduism
• Ideal for use on university courses.

Gavin Flood is Head of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Stirling. Among his publications are Beyond Phenomenology: Rethinking the Study of Religion (1999), An Introduction to Hinduism (1996), and Body and Cosmology in Kashmir Œaivism (1993).