Hindu traditions
Hindu traditions fill the calendar of South Asia and the many places where Hindus have settled, from Bali and Mauritius to Fiji, Trinidad and Britain.
Hindu traditions fill the calendar of South Asia and the many places where Hindus have settled, from Bali and Mauritius to Fiji, Trinidad and Britain. They include daily puja, the festivals of Diwali, Holi, Navratri and Pongal, pilgrimages to the Ganges and Tirupati, the sixteen samskaras that mark life from birth to death and a great many regional and village customs. Hinduism has no single founder or text, and practice varies by family, region and community. These pages describe the traditions as those who keep them do.
Home and temple
Worship begins at home, with a shrine, a lamp and a morning prayer, and continues at the temple, where a priest offers the deity water, flowers, food and light on behalf of devotees. Visitors take darshan, receive prasad and walk around the shrine. Festivals bring the whole street into the temple or the pandal, with processions, music and communal meals, and the cycle of the year is marked by fasts and feasts.
Rites of life
The samskaras include the naming, the first rice, the sacred thread, marriage and the funeral. The wedding, with its seven steps round the fire, is the best known, while funerals involve cremation and offerings to the ancestors. Every region adds its own customs, such as the kolam in Tamil Nadu, the rakhi in the north and the Durga Puja of Bengal. The diversity is part of the tradition.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Hindu (faith). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMadhushravaniमधुश्रावणी
A fifteen-day Mithila festival of fasting, worship and song for newly married bridesSpiritual
🇮🇳 Kozhikode, IndiaRamanattamരാമനാട്ടം
A Kerala dance drama staging the life of Rama across eight daysPerformance
🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSacred groves of India
Communal forest sanctuaries across India where religious belief protects biodiversity and local resources.Spiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaOran lands
Sacred groves and community-conserved pastures in Rajasthan dedicated to local deities.Spiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaKalampattu
A Kerala temple offering where a five-colour floor picture is sung over and danced aroundSpiritual
🇮🇳 Jammu, India and 1 moreChura
A set of bridal bangles worn across South Asia at weddings and in early marriageDress
🇮🇳 IndiaParashurama Jayantiपरशुरामजयंती (Paraśurāmajayantī)
A Hindu day of fasting and worship marking Parashurama's birth on Akshaya TritiyaSpiritual
🇧🇹 Punakha, BhutanTraditional Day of OfferingBuelwa Phuewi Nyim
A Bhutanese New Year marked by offerings to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and family feasts.Festival · Breakfast
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreTsiknopemptiΤσικνοπέμπτη
A Greek Carnival feast of grilled meats held on the second to last Thursday before Lent.Festival · Dinner
🇮🇳 IndiaHarikathaహరికథ / ಹರಿಕಥೆ / हरिकथा
A South Indian art of telling sacred stories with song, speech and rhythmPerformance
🇮🇳 Goa, IndiaVeerabhadra
A ritual dance of a fierce figure performed in Goa during the Shigmo festival and on Chaitra Poornima.Performance
🇮🇳 IndiaSri Vaikanasam
A worship protocol for Vishnu, kept in many temples of South IndiaSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaDhundhढुन्ढ
A Hindu ritual in Rajasthan where infants are symbolically married to Holika on Holi to ward off mischief.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaPranamaप्रणाम
A traditional Indian gesture of reverent bowing, prostration, and touching the feetEtiquette
🇮🇳 Palani, India and 1 moreSurasamharamSūrasaṃhāram
A temple performance of Murugan's victory, ending the week-long Kanda Shashti fastSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaBommalattam
A shadow puppetry tradition from Tamil Nadu using carved dolls and oil lamps to tell stories.Performance
🇮🇳 IndiaIndian wedding clothes
Traditional attire worn by couples and guests during Indian wedding ceremonies across various regions.Dress
🇮🇳 IndiaPolitical marriages in India
Royal marriages arranged to seal treaties, peace and power in Indian historyRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaMarga Natya
A dance, music and acting tradition rebuilt from Bharata's Natya ShastraPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePunjabi wedding traditions
The multi-day marriage customs and rituals of Hindu and Sikh Punjabi familiesRite of passage · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 IndiaPrathamastami
An Odia ritual blessing the firstborn child for long life and good fortuneRite of passage
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreDaura-Suruwalदौरा सुरुवाल
The traditional Nepali male attire of a wrap shirt, tapered trousers, and a coat.Dress
🇮🇳 IndiaVadhu Praveshaवधूप्रवेश
A Hindu ceremony welcoming a bride into her new husband's homeRite of passage
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 3 moreDupattaदुपट्टा
A traditional South Asian scarf worn across the shoulders, chest, and headDress
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaWeddings in India
Marriage rites and festive gatherings celebrated across the diverse communities of India.Rite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaKaradaiyan Nonbuகாரடையான் நோன்பு
A Tamil Hindu festival where women fast and pray for the long life of their husbands.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Thiruvananthapuram, IndiaAttukal Pongala
A ten-day Hindu festival in Kerala where millions of women cook rice offerings in earthen pots for the goddess.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaMadisarமடிசார் (Tamil)
A nine-yard sari drape kept by Tamil Brahmin women for weddings, puja and mourningDress
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 1 moreMarriage vows
The promises a couple speak to each other as they marryRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaKathaकथा (Hindi/Sanskrit), கதை (Tamil)
A traditional Indian practice of religious storytelling and scriptural commentary, kept across Hindu and Sikh communitieSpiritual
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNgerorod
A Balinese Hindu way of marrying, where a couple wed by their own choiceRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaSahasra Purna Chandrodayamसहस्र-(पूर्ण)चन्द्र-दर्शन
A Hindu rite marking a person's thousandth full moon, celebrated around age eighty-one.Rite of passage
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ramanattam: JP Vets, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Katha: Tirlochan Singh, Public domain, source
- Kavadi Aattam: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Kalampattu: Ranjith A v, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Parashurama Jayanti: Rajasekhar1961, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Political marriages in India: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Marriage vows: Tumi-1983, Public domain, source
- Attukal Pongala: Maheshsudhakar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Weddings in India: Jaisingh Rathore, CC BY 2.5, source
- Dupatta: Kinshuk Sunil, CC BY 2.0, source
- Vadhu Pravesha: Shounak Ray, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Daura-Suruwal: not researched, CC BY 4.0, source
- Prathamastami: Swetabiswal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Punjabi wedding traditions: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Marga Natya: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Indian wedding clothes: Lee Jordan, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tsiknopempti: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sacred groves of India: James Forbes, Public domain, source
- Harikatha: Sanath, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bommalattam: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Madhushravani: Monika Jha, CC0, source