Brahmanism and Hinduism; Or, Religious Thought and Life in India, as Based on the Veda and Other Sacred Books of the Hindus

Published in 1887, this volume was authored by Sir Monier Monier-Williams, the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford. It serves as a comprehensive study of the religious evolution in India, tracing the transition from the Vedic period through the development of complex Brahmanical systems to the diversity of later Hinduism. The work was commissioned and written in the context of the Victorian era's academic fascination with Oriental studies, intended to provide a systematic, albeit Eurocentric, scholarly framework for understanding Indian religious tradition.

Monier-Williams was a prominent scholar of his time, and his approach to the subject was deeply rooted in his dual role as a linguist and a representative of the British academic establishment. The design and structure of the volume reflect the rigorous, encyclopedic style of nineteenth-century philological research. Upon its release, the book was received as a foundational academic text, though contemporary scholars often note its limitations regarding colonial bias and the categorization of complex religious practices through a rigid, Western-influenced lens.