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.
About this page
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.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇮🇳 Ayodhya, India and 10 moreDiwaliदीपावली (Dīpāvalī)
A five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Mathura, India and 5 moreHoliहोली (Hindi)
A spring festival of colours and bonfires that marks the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreKailash Mansarovar Yatraकैलाश मानसरोवर यात्रा (Hindi); ཀཱའི་ལ་ཤ་མན་ས་རོ་ཝར་ཡ་ཏྲ། (Tibetan)
A high-altitude pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in TibetSpiritual
🇮🇳 Kolkata, IndiaJana Gana Mana
India's national anthem, from a Bengali hymn of 1911, sung at civic occasionsCeremony
🇮🇳 Kolhapur, IndiaKolhapuri chappal
Handcrafted braided leather slip-on sandals from western IndiaCraft
🇮🇳 IndiaPandavani
A folk singing tradition from central India that retells episodes of the Mahabharata epic through music and theatrical nPerformance
🇮🇳 Gwalior, India and 1 moreDhrupadध्रुवपद
The foundational vocal and instrumental classical music tradition of northern IndiaPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreWater lantern
Small lamps floated on water to honour the dead and ask for good fortuneFestival
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaLalbaugcha Raja
A Mumbai Ganesha festival where millions seek blessings before ocean immersionSpiritual
🇵🇰 Karachi, Pakistan and 2 moreSouth Asian truck art
The craft of painting and adorning cargo trucks and buses across India and Pakistan.Craft
🇮🇳 Vrindavan, IndiaRaslilaरासलीला (Rāsalīlā)
A traditional Indian dance and folk theatre performance depicting the divine love of Krishna and the gopis.Performance
🇮🇳 Kolkata, India and 1 moreSindur Khelaসিঁদুর খেলা
A Bengali Hindu ritual where married women apply vermilion to each other on Vijayadashami.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaSaptapadiसप्तपदी (Sanskrit), सात फेरे (Marathi)
The seven-step ritual that finalizes a Hindu marriage, observed across India.Rite of passage
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreAlpanaআলপনা (Alpona)
A Bengali floor painting tradition using rice flour paste to mark festivals and rituals.Performance
🇮🇳 Puri, India and 1 morePattachitra
A cloth scroll painting tradition from eastern India featuring mythological stories and folk tales.Performance
🇱🇰 Kandy, Sri LankaKandyan danceඋඩරට නැටුම්
The sacred dance of Sri Lanka's hill country, kept in temple and on the stagePerformance
🇮🇳 Badrinath, IndiaChota Char Dham
Four Himalayan shrines in Uttarakhand, visited in one season each yearSpiritual
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalKumariकुमारी
A living goddess tradition in Nepal where a young girl embodies the divine feminine.Spiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaSatsangसत्सङ्ग
Sitting in the company of truth, to hear, sing and meditate in northern IndiaSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaTheyyam
A sacred ritual dance and divine invocation from North Malabar in IndiaSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePhulkariਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ
Geometric and floral threadwork embroidered by Punjabi women on handwoven cotton.Craft
🇮🇳 IndiaAtithi Devo Bhavaअतिथिदेवो भव
A traditional Indian Hindu philosophy and campaign that treats guests with the reverence due to deities.Etiquette
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreGrihapraveshगृहप्रवेश (Gṛhapravēśa)
A Hindu housewarming ritual to purify a new home and invite blessings.Home
🇮🇳 Thrissur, IndiaKerala mural painting
Frescoes of Hindu deities painted on temple and palace walls in Kerala, India.Performance
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreNakshi kanthaনকশি কাঁথা
A traditional embroidered quilt from Bengal, made by stitching layers of old cloth into colourful, patterned textiles.Craft
🇮🇳 India and 5 morePretaप्रेत
Offerings and rites for spirits enduring deep hunger across Asian traditions.Spiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaKambala
An annual traditional buffalo race across muddy paddy fields in southwestern IndiaGame
🇮🇳 Thrissur, IndiaThrissur Pooramതൃശ്ശൂര് പൂരം
A grand Kerala temple gathering with elephant pageantry, percussion, and fireworksFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaNamasteनमस्ते
A respectful greeting made with joined palms, spoken in South Asia and beyondEtiquette
🇮🇳 Kolkata, India and 5 moreNavaratriनवरात्रि (Navarātri)
A nine-night Hindu festival honoring the goddess Durga and her nine forms through prayer, fasting, and dance.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreMaha Shivaratriमहाशिवरात्रि
A Hindu night of fasting and vigil dedicated to Shiva, marking his divine union with Parvati.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreRaksha Bandhan
A Hindu festival where sisters tie a protective thread on their brothers' wrists to mark their bond.Festival
🇮🇳 Pune, India and 5 moreGanesh Chaturthiगणेश चतुर्थी
A Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of Ganesha, marked by clay idols, sweets, and public processions.Festival
🇮🇳 Kolkata, India and 2 moreDurga Pujaদুর্গাপূজা
Ten days of worship for the goddess Durga, closing with images carried to the waterSpiritual
🇮🇳 Mathura, India and 5 moreKrishna Janmashtamiकृष्णजन्माष्टमी
A night of fasting, song and vigil that marks the birth of KrishnaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 India and 6 moreBuddha's Birthday佛诞
A festival marking the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, observed across Asia with temple rituals and community gatherings.Spiritual
🇮🇳 India and 5 morePongal
Three or four days of boiling rice, garlanded cattle and thanks to the sunSeasonal · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 Ayodhya, India and 5 moreRama Navamiराम नवमी
A Hindu spring festival marking the birth of Rama with prayer, fasting and processionsFestival
🇮🇳 Kochi, India and 5 moreOnamഓണം
A ten-day harvest festival in Kerala celebrating the return of King Mahabali with feasts, flower carpets and boat races.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Mysuru, India and 2 moreVijayadashamiविजयदशमी (Vijayadaśamī)
A Hindu festival marking the end of Navaratri, celebrating the victory of good over evil across India and Nepal.Festival
🇮🇳 Amritsar, India and 2 moreVaisakhi
A spring harvest and new year festival kept across India and Pakistan by Hindus and Sikhs.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 6 moreMakar Sankrantiमकरसङ्क्रान्ति
The Sun's northward turn, kept on 14 January with kites, fairs and river bathsSpiritual
🇮🇳 Puri, India and 4 moreRatha Yatra
An annual Hindu festival where deities travel through the streets in towering carriagesFestival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreUgadiఉగాది
A South Indian New Year feast celebrating life with sweet, sour, and bitter tastesSeasonal
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 1 moreNaga Panchamiनागपञ्चमी (Nāgapañcamī)
A day of worship for serpent deities and cobras, observed by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists across South Asia.Spiritual
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreUpanayanaउपनयन (Sanskrit)
A Hindu rite of passage that begins a child's study and marks a second birthRite of passage
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKarva Chauthकरकचतुर्थी
A fasting festival kept by married women in North India and Nepal for the safety of their husbands.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreThaipusam
A Tamil Hindu festival honoring Murugan through devotional burdens and pilgrimageSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Durga Puja: Subhrajyoti07, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Water lantern: 松岡明芳, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Holi: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rama Navami: Adityamadhav83, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Maha Shivaratri: Navneesh Ramessur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pongal: Saral Shots, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Raksha Bandhan: Suyash.dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vaisakhi: Michael Clark, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ganesh Chaturthi: Original uploader was MatthieuMoy at fr.wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, source
- Onam: Jiteshgt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jana Gana Mana: Rabindranath Tagore, Public domain, source
- Ratha Yatra: G.-U. Tolkiehn, CC BY 2.5, source
- Naga Panchami: No machine-readable author provided. Krish Dulal assumed (based on cop, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Navaratri: Mukerjee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kailash Mansarovar Yatra: micknik, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kandyan dance: PIERRE ANDRE LECLERCQ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Theyyam: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- South Asian truck art: Alexandros.Papadopoulos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Preta: Temple, Richard Carnac, Sir, Public domain, source
- Kolhapuri chappal: Daderot, CC0, source
- Kambala: Sajith mv parappally, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Phulkari: Sheebamadanloewinger, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pattachitra: Unknown, Public domain, source
- Lalbaugcha Raja: ninadism, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pandavani: Suyash Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sindur Khela: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 4.0, source
- Saptapadi: Bhumish143, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Grihapravesh: Aruna at ml.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kumari: Nirmal Dulal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kerala mural painting: Sivavkm, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nakshi kantha: A junaid alam khan ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Raslila: https://www.flickr.com/photos/matsukin/, CC BY 2.0, source
- Thrissur Pooram: Rameshng, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Diwali: Kalli navya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Alpana: Tripan123, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Thaipusam: hams Nocete, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Buddha's Birthday: User: (WT-shared) Manoj nav at wts wikivoyage, Public domain, source
- Karva Chauth: Iamwiki001, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ugadi: Kalyan Kanuri, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Upanayana: vinodbahal, CC BY 2.0, source
- Namaste: Ms Sarah Welch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Krishna Janmashtami: Nvvchar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vijayadashami: DiplomatTesterMan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Makar Sankranti: Saloni Desai, CC BY-SA 2.0, source