philosophy
Is Hinduism monist, monotheist, polytheist, or something else?
What the tradition says
There is an old line from the Vedas that is often quoted here. It says, in simple terms, that truth is one, and the wise call it by many names. This single idea sits behind much of how Hindus think about gods and the divine. So a Hindu may pray to many deities and still feel they are all faces of one reality. That is why no single Western label fits cleanly. Some Hindus are clearly monist, holding that all of existence is one underlying reality. Some are monotheist, devoted to one supreme God who may take many forms. Some honour many gods. Often the same person holds more than one of these views at once, without seeing any conflict.
Where the labels come from
The words monotheist, polytheist, and monist come from outside the tradition. Scholars studying Hindu texts coined the term henotheism to describe a habit they noticed: a worshipper may praise one deity as the highest while still accepting others. This was an attempt to name something the older labels missed. The point is that these terms were tools for outsiders trying to sort the tradition, not names the tradition gave itself.
How Hindus describe it today
Many modern Hindu thinkers say the simple labels do not capture the tradition. Some prefer phrases like 'monistic pluralism' or describe it as one God seen in many forms. Others are content to call it polytheist, or to say it holds one formless reality. There is no single agreed answer, and the tradition has never demanded one. How a person describes it usually depends on their school, their family, and the path they follow.