Arya Samaj

Arya Samaj (“Society of Nobles”), founded by Swami Dayananda Saraswati in Bombay in 1875, is the great Vedic-reform movement of modern Hinduism: back to the Vedas, against idolatry, caste-by-birth, and child marriage — and toward ritual simplification, education, and national uplift.

Origins

Dayananda’s Satyarth Prakash (1875) is the movement’s charter; the ten principles (niani? — the ten niyams) define its creed — God as the one, formless, scripturally known Truth; the Vedas as primary revelation. The shuddhi (reconversion/purification) rite made the Samaj a force in religious politics; the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic schools and colleges institutionalized its education.

Key teachings

Vedic monotheism; critique of Puranic ritualism and idol worship; equal dignity of women (widow remarriage, female education); shuddhi for returnees; action-oriented dharma.

Modern status

The Samaj remains a major institution in North India (schools, colleges, Orphanages? — orphanages and charitable works), its rites (the Vedic wedding, havan-based ceremonies) standard in reformist households; its history is braided with the Arya Samaj’s 20th-century nationalist currents.

Verification notes

• Founding (1875) and the Satyarth Prakash are documented; the shuddhi politics are standard history.
• Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).