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Al-Biruni reported that Hindus believed their country, people, rulers, religion and science were unmatched. Centuries later, Swami Vivekananda argued that religious truth could be shared across faiths. The two passages invite comparison, but they do not show that Vivekananda was repeating or responding to Al-Biruni.
What Al-Biruni said about Hindus
In Edward C. Sachau’s English translation of Alberuni’s India, Al-Biruni writes that “the Hindus believe that there is no country but theirs, no nation like theirs, no kings like theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs.” The wording presents a belief he attributes to Hindus in his account; it should not be treated as a timeless description of every Hindu community or individual.
The passage appears in a chapter on “the self-conceit of the Hindus, and their deprecation of anything foreign.” It follows Al-Biruni’s account of Mahmud’s campaigns, the damage they caused, and the withdrawal of Hindu sciences from conquered areas. He connects distrust of foreigners in part to those political and religious circumstances. His account therefore places the reported attitude within a history of conquest and loss, rather than describing it in isolation.
Al-Biruni’s purpose and historical setting
Al-Biruni’s work concerns India around A.D. 1030. The English text commonly quoted today is Sachau’s translation, published in London in 1910; its phrasing is the translator’s English, not Al-Biruni’s original wording. The digitized edition is available through Columbia University Libraries’ scan of Alberuni’s India, Volume 1, and the edition can also be read at Project Gutenberg.
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In the preface, Al-Biruni says he wrote to assist people discussing religious questions with Hindus and those associating with them. He says he avoids unfounded imputations and calls the book “a simple historic record of facts”; he also states, “This book is not a polemical one.” These statements describe his declared approach, not a guarantee that every broad characterization in the book is neutral or universal. The preface is available in the Columbia scan.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Vivekananda said—and what “echoed” can mean
In “The Hindu Religion,” collected in Volume 1 of The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vivekananda writes: “if one religion is true, all the others must be true.” The sentence advances an inclusive argument about religious truth. It is not a repetition of Al-Biruni’s report about perceived Hindu exceptionalism. The text is available in the Wikisource transcription of “The Hindu Religion”.
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The passages can be placed in thematic conversation because both address how religious identity relates to other peoples and faiths. But they make different kinds of claims: Al-Biruni reports an attitude he encountered and situates it amid conflict; Vivekananda makes a normative argument for religious pluralism. The available passages do not show Vivekananda citing Al-Biruni or establish that he was influenced by him. Calling Vivekananda’s statement an “echo” is therefore an interpretation of a broad theme, not a documented line of transmission.
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