Library Class and Subject Guides: World Religions: Indian

Purpose

The purpose of this list is to provide researchers with a place to start -- whether you're researching for a class assignment or for personal interest. This list is not meant to be exhaustive. However, if you have suggestions about how to improve the list, please let us know in the Feedback section!

Comparative

Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America by Gurinder Singh Mann, Paul David Numrich & Raymond B. Williams
Call Number: BL2525 .M356 2001
"examines the history of three important Asian traditions and the religious life of their adherents from the time of their transplantation in America until the present"--CHOICE

Hinduism

Hinduism : a very short introduction by Kim Knott
Call Number: BL1202 .K564 2000
Essential Hinduism by Steven J. Rosen
Call Number: BL1202 .R55 2006
"a clear, concise introduction to Vaishnavism, the forms of Hinduism adhered to by the approximately two-thirds of "Hindus" who acknowledge Vishnu as the supreme deity."--CHOICE
Hinduism
Call Number: DVD - BL1202 .H5 2006
In the ERC.
The Mahābhārata; an English version based on selected verses by Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan
Call Number: PK3633.A2 N3 1965
"This current translation of the epic poem (no one's exactly sure who wrote it or when it first appeared) includes two new verses as well as a new preface and a glossary, genealogical tables, and an index correlating the verses with the original Sanskrit text."--Library Journal
Hindu primary sources : a sectarian reader by edited by Carl Olson
Call Number: BL1111.32 .E5 2007
Includes excerpts from the Vedas and the Upanishads, as well as Dharma literature and devotional traditions (Vaisnhava, Krishna, Rama etc.).

Buddhism

Introducing Buddhism by Charles S. Prebish and Damien Keown
Call Number: BQ266 .P74 2010
textbook introduction to Buddhism aimed at undergraduate readers
The connected discourses of the Buddha : a translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya by translated from the Pāli by Bhikkhu Bodhi
Call Number: BQ1332.B63 E5 2000
An integral part of the Pali Canon (Theravada Buddhism). Contains suttas on such key Buddhist concepts as the Four Noble Truths, dependent origination, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Flower ornament scripture : a translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra by Thomas Cleary
Call Number: BQ1622.E5 T7413 1993
Among the largest scriptures in Mahayana Buddhism. Also referred to as Hua-yen in Chinese and as Kegon-kyo in Japanese.
The diamond sutra : the perfection of wisdom by translated from Sanskrit and Chinese by Red Pine
Call Number: BQ1992.E5 P56 2002
"The Diamond Sutra has fascinated Buddhists for centuries because of its insights into dualism and illusion; the "diamond" can cut through any obstacle on the road to enlightenment. ... This is a useful and beautiful translation of one of Buddhism's central texts."--Publisher's Weekly
The heart sutra : the womb of Buddhas by translation and commentary by Red Pine
Call Number: BQ1962.E5 P56 2004
"a meticulous line-by-line interpretation that will radically deepen readers' understanding of not only the sutra but also Buddhism's underlying structure, Abhidharma, or the Matrix of Reality."--Booklist

Sikhism

The Sikh religion, its gurus, sacred writings, and authors by Max Macauliffe
Call Number: BL2018 .M313 1963x
A six-volume examination of the Sikh gurus, and their historical and religious impact.
Sikhism by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh
ISBN: 9781848853218
Outlines and explains the core Sikh beliefs, and explores the writings and teachings of the Ten Sikh Gurus in Sikhism's Holy Scriptures, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (more usually called just the "Granth"). Further chapters explore Sikh ethics, art and architecture, and matters of gender and the place of women in the tradition.