page_title: Religion
section_title: Hinduism
hierarchical_section_title: Religion / Specific religions / Indian religions / Hinduism
caption_attribution_description: English: The 57-feet tall statue of Bahubali, referred to as ‘Gomateshwara’, is situated atop Vindhyagiri. It is the largest monolith statue in the world. It was installed by the Ganga minister and commander Chavundaraya in the 10th century AD. The base of the sculpture has inscriptions carved in Kannada, Tamil and Marathi languages. For language historians this is also an important site, as the earliest known examples of Kannada and Marathi writing are found on Vindhyagiri hill. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, devotees, and tourists from all over the world flock to the statue once in every 12 years for an event known as Mahamastakabhisheka. The most recent Mahamastakabhisheka was held in the year 2018. The statue is voted the first among the seven wonders of India. This is a photo of ASI monument number&#160; N-KA-B125.
context_page_description: Religion is a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements. However, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.
  Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacred things, faith, a supernatural being or supernatural beings or "some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life". Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration, sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are sometimes said by followers to be true, that have the side purpose of explaining the origin of life, the universe, and other things.
context_section_description: Hinduism is also called Vaidika Dharma, the dharma of the Vedas. It is a synecdoche describing the similar philosophies of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and related groups practiced or founded in the Indian subcontinent. Concepts most of them share in common include karma, caste, reincarnation, mantras, yantras, and darśana. Hinduism is one of the most ancient of still-active religions, with origins perhaps as far back as prehistoric times. Hinduism is not a monolithic religion but a religious category containing dozens of separate philosophies amalgamated as Sanātana Dharma, which is the name by which Hinduism has been known throughout history by its followers.
caption: The 10th century Gommateshwara statue in Karnataka
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