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Dharamkira
Seen from above, a woman lights a ring of small lamps set around a rangoli of leaves and petals

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New to Hinduism? Start here.

Twelve short pages that explain the ideas, the gods, the practices, and the calendar in plain words — and a seven-day path that turns them into a habit. Nothing here asks you to believe anything; it asks you to look.

Read the primer →Take the seven-day path

No account. Nothing to sign. Your choices stay on this device.

Photo: AjoyDutta1997 (edit: Aristeas)CC BY-SA 4.0CC BY-SA 4.0

12 pages · about 2 minutes each

Twelve pages, in order

Each page is one idea, one picture, one verse, and — where it helps — one diagram. Two minutes each.

  1. Stone steps and old palaces of Munshi Ghat rising from the river Ganga at Varanasi, boats moored below
    Page 1 of 12What Hinduism isA family of traditions from India, more than three thousand years old, with no single founder, book, or church.
  2. The sun rising above a blanket of cloud seen from a hilltop, the grass in the foreground lit gold
    Page 2 of 12Four words that carry everythingDharma is right living, karma is action and its consequence, samsara is the cycle of rebirth, and moksha is freedom from it.
  3. Hundreds of painted stucco figures of gods, goddesses and attendants covering a temple gateway tower
    Page 3 of 12One truth, many godsHindus can worship many deities and still speak of one reality, because the deities are the faces through which that reality is approached.
  4. A Chola bronze of Shiva dancing inside a ring of flames, one foot raised, on the dwarf of forgetfulness
    Page 4 of 12The deities you will meet firstFifteen names cover most of what you will see in homes, temples, and festivals.
  5. Hands hold a round red tray carrying a burning oil lamp, small bowls of kumkum and rice, flowers and sweets
    Page 5 of 12Puja: how worship worksThe deity is treated as an honoured guest — invited, seated, bathed, dressed, fed, and shown a lamp.
  6. A bearded sage in a saffron cloth sits cross-legged before a small fire, a mala of dark beads passing through his fingers
    Page 6 of 12Mantra and japaA sacred phrase, repeated with attention — usually 108 times, counted on a string of beads.
  7. Page 7 of 12Om, and why it is everywhereThe syllable Hindus place at the beginning of nearly everything.
  8. Clouds of yellow and pink colour thrown over a crowd at Lathmar Holi in Nandgaon
    Page 8 of 12Festivals, and why the dates moveHindu festivals follow the moon, so they land on different days each year.
  9. Two pages of a Sanskrit manuscript in Devanagari script, the verse numbers marked in red
    Page 9 of 12The scriptures, in one pageThe Vedas at the top, the epics and Puranas beneath them, and the Gita as the book most people start with.
  10. The great tower of the Brihadisvara Temple lit at dusk, the Nandi pavilion in the foreground
    Page 10 of 12Visiting a templeShoes off, hands folded, walk clockwise, receive prasad in the right hand — and ask when unsure.
  11. A ring of small lit clay lamps around a larger one, set in a white rangoli pattern
    Page 11 of 12Hinduism in everyday lifeNamaste, the lamp at dusk, fasting days, the family shrine — and the family's way is the right way for that home.
  12. The stone pavilions of the Vitthala Temple at Hampi mirrored in a shallow pool under a blue sky
    Page 12 of 12How to use DharamkiraLearn in Deities; follow the year in Festivals; practise in Mantras, Meditation, Yoga, and Puja Guides; keep your own record in My sadhana.
Photo: AjoyDutta1997 (edit: Aristeas)CC BY-SA 4.0CC BY-SA 4.0

7 days · 5 minutes a day

Then, seven days

One lesson and one five-minute practice a day. Light a lamp for each day you finish; the lamps stay lit on this device.

  1. Where you are standing
  2. The gods, and why there are many
  3. Sound: Om and your first mantra
  4. Light: the lamp and the aarti
  5. Stillness: breath and meditation
  6. Time: the calendar and the festivals
  7. Making it yours

0 of 7 days done

Begin day 1 →

Fifteen names, one line each

New to these words?
Dharma
What upholds: your duty from where you stand in life, and the order that keeps the world whole.
Karma
Action — and the principle that every action shapes what follows. Not fate, not punishment.
Moksha
Liberation: freedom from the cycle of rebirth and from the confusion that keeps it turning.
Samsara
The cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
Brahman
The one reality behind everything — not a person in the sky, but the ground of all that is, including you.
Ishta-devata
Your chosen deity — usually the one your family keeps — the face through which you approach the divine.
Puja
Worship at home or temple — offering light, flowers, food and prayers to a deity.
Mantra
Sacred words or sounds, usually in Sanskrit, repeated to steady the mind and honour the divine.
Jaap / Japa
Repeating a mantra again and again — often 108 times — while keeping count.
Mala
A string of 108 beads used to count mantra repetitions with your fingers.
Aarti
Waving a lit lamp in slow circles before the deity while singing — the glowing finale of a puja.
Prasad
Food offered to the deity first and then shared by everyone — a blessing you can eat.
Vrat
A day of promise — often fasting or eating simply — kept for a deity or a loved one's wellbeing.
Tithi
A day of the Hindu moon calendar. Festival dates follow the moon, which is why they move each year.
Panchang
The traditional Hindu calendar-almanac that tells which tithi, star and auspicious times fall on each day.
Murti
The image of a deity in a temple or home shrine; treated as a living guest during worship.
Avatar
A descent of a deity into the world — Rama and Krishna are avatars of Vishnu.
Shruti
"What was heard": the Vedas and Upanishads, the texts with the highest authority.
Smriti
"What is remembered": the epics, the Puranas, and the law books — composed after the Vedas.
Tilak
The mark on the forehead — sandal, vermilion, or ash — worn after puja or as a blessing.
Namaste
Palms together, a small bow: "I bow to you." A greeting, a thank-you, and a goodbye.
Mandir
A Hindu temple — or the small shrine most homes keep on a shelf.
All the words →

Photographs are by the photographers credited on each image and are listed on the About page. /about