William Ward's account of the Hindu communities among whom he served as a Baptist missionary in Serampore in West Bengal was first published in 1811 and reprinted in this third edition in 1817. It was an extremely influential work that shaped British views of the newly defined entity of 'Hinduism' in the early nineteenth century. Ward and his fellow missionaries promoted social reforms and education, establishing the Serampore Mission Press in 1800 and Serampore College in 1818. Ward devoted twenty years to compiling his study of Hindu literature, history, mythology and religion, which was eventually published in four volumes. It provided richly detailed information, and was regarded as authoritative for the next fifty years. It is still an important source for researchers in areas including Indian history, British colonialism, Orientalism and religious studies.

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Product details
- Date Published: December 2010
- format: Multiple copy pack
- isbn: 9781108008259
- length: 1773 pages
- dimensions: 250 x 324 x 68 mm
- weight: 2.3kg
- availability: Temporarily unavailable - available from TBC
Table of Contents
Volume I. Objects of Worship:
1. Of God
2. Of the gods
3. Of the goddesses
4. Inferior celestial beings objects of worship
5. Of the terrestrial gods
6. Terrestrial goddesses
7. Deities worshipped by the lower orders only
8. Worship of beings in strange shapes
9. Worship of human beings
10. Worship of beasts
11. The worship of birds
12. The worship of trees
13. The worship of rivers
14. The worship of fish
15. The worship of books
16. The worship of stones
17. A log of wood worshipped
Volume II. Of the Temples, Images, Priests, and Temple Worship of the Hindoos:
1. Of the temples
2. Of the images
3. Of the priests
4. Of the worship in the temples
Book III. Of the Stated Periods of Worship, and Various Duties and Ceremonies:
1. Of the times of worship
2. Appointed rites and ceremonies
Book IV [Not present in the original edition]
Book V. Doctrines of the Hindoo Religion:
1. Of the transmigration of souls
2. Judgment of men after death
3. Of future happiness
4. Of future punishments
Book VI. Hindoo Saints, or Mendicants:
1. Preparatory duties of a mendicant
Book VII. Hindoo Religious Sects:
1. Account of the regular Hindoo sects
2. Account of the Bouddhus
3. Account of the Joinus
4. Account of the Shikhs
5. Account of the followers of Choitunyu
6. Analysis of all the Hindoo sects
Concluding remarks
Volume III:
1. History
2. The hindoo account of the castes
3. Ceremonies practised at the birth of children
4. Glossary
Volume IV:
1. Account of Munoo
2. Hindoo arrangement of their own writings
3. The present state of learning among the Hindoos.
Author
William Ward