The present monograph of Professor S.R. Goyal, an eminent authority on religious history of India, seeks to delineate the fundamental features of the Pauranika phase of Hinduism which is still the main religion of India. Pauranika Hinduism acquired dominant place in the life of the Hindus only gradually in the post Upanishadic era which was earlier enjoyed by the Vedic religion. As a result of this change the two great Epics, the Gita, Dharmasastras and the Puranas became the chief texts of Hindu religion though a belief in the apaurusheyatva of the Vedas was never fully given up. In the Pauranika age new schools of Hindu philosophy, specially Vedanta evolved. The pantheon of the Pauranika religion in many respects was different from the pantheon of the Vedic age. One of its main characteristic was Avataravada, the doctrine of incarnation, which was almost unknown in the Vedic age. Similar was the case with the Pauranika form of worship which gave emphasis on bhakti and image worship (puja). With these new features Pauranika Hinduism advocated a different social philosophy also. All these fundamental features of the Pauranika Hinduism have been discussed in detail by Professor Goyal in the present monograph.